Wasted and Gained
by palomino333
Summary: Sequel to The Choices We Make. Starscream made his choice on Earth, but on Cybertron he must now suffer the consequences. As the war peaks, he uncovers the dark secrets of his origin, while Alexis watches the transformers' lives fall apart around her...
1. Chapter 1

Finally, I've started my sequel! This is taken about one or two days after The Choices We Make ended. This will be updated less often because it is still being written. The character Barb in here is actually the cameo of a good friend of mine. I don't own Transformers.

I'd seen Alexis, my girl, cry too much in such a short time. I'd worried her, angered her, and saddened her. I'd never wanted to do that again.  
But times like these I felt ready to kill someone she loved, and not give a damn if it made her sad or not.  
Her sister, Christine, was a huge pain in the aft. She made Dennis look easy-going. Maybe I should start from the top?

XXXXXX

Well, we all had the shuttle ready to go to Cybertron, and hopefully beat Megatron there (losing a few thousand slaves might come as a setback), but there was one problem: we'd have five human kids disappearing off the Earth without leaving a note. Add to that that we'd be using up their spring break for the trip, and it'd be dumb to think we'd be back in time for the break's end. Sorry I-Don't-Care-What-Your-Name-Is, but I think helping to win a war is more important than learning about why rocks exist. I'm ready to sleep just thinking about it.

We got lucky. That's all I'll say. Springtime I guess is like Earth's beginning all over again, so everyone's out to do all kinds of new things, see the different parts of the world, and other blah-blah-blah, so there were plenty of places to choose an alibi.

And that's what we did. It seemed so easy and tiring compared to the battle with "my old friends" after Alexis, Swindle, Sureshock, the new Mini-Con, and I were kidnapped by Thrust. I'll never get over how useless I was, trapped between his fingers like a bug while she writhed. Ugh!

Alexis's sister had stopped by at her place to say hi to her family before jetting off with her friends from her college, ASU, to some beach on the west coast. So basically, it was a whole, "Sorry I haven't seen you, but I've got better things to do than spend time with you guys, so hi and bye!"

Anyway, the younger of the two decided to take this moment to make a quick phone call in order to be allowed to show her now battered, bruised, and bandaged (she had to do some prety good lying) boyfriend to her sister (how Dennis let her get away with this, I had no idea). Woo-hoo.

Even though I did wash, brushed my hair, and tucked it into a clean ponytail, nothing would cover the bandage across my forehead. Add to that the fact that I was wearing my choker, combat boots, and the black wristbands on each arm to cover my Autobot insignias, I highly doubted I looked typical.

"So, we've got the plan, right?" Alexis asked me for the second time. I grunted in agreement, staring on ahead at the road, my hands on Sideswipe's steering wheel, trying to make myself look convincing. Hot Shot couldn't take us because Mr. Wilson had seen me take her to the dance in the first car, and I wasn't in the mood to start making up stories about parents that didn't exist, dancing around facts and years to make it look right. I'd pulled enough of that slag when I was a Decepticon.

Feeling bored, I muttered, "You've been awfully quiet, Sideswipe." We were taking empty back roads. I hadn't seen another car pass for ten minutes straight.

"Well...It's just..."

I rolled my eyes. "Spit it out."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Alexis and I similtaneously groaned. Not this again. We'd made our decision, and that was final. She gave me a sideways look. "Your turn."

"Oh, joy." I opened my mouth, and out came something you'd never hear from me: a speech (it wasn't mine). It felt like pulling my fingernails out one by one I as I droned on about how important this was to our war effort, blah-blah-blah. Could Optimus's words be any drier? And at the end, my patient girlfriend threw her arms up in the air in exasperation and moaned, "What's wrong with my sister, anyway?"

"Uh, probably the fact that she's going to be miles away, out of our line of control." I replied dryly, the speech still working its effect on me. She punched me in the arm. "Not helping!"

"I thought you didn't distract a driver!" I said in a reproachful tone, snapping out of it.

"Not when we're in park!" Alexis replied, breaking into a laugh. I smacked my forehead as I felt my face turn red in embarrassment. No wonder the wheel had stopped turning. "Could you give me a warning next time?" I murmured to Sideswipe a second before I slammed my door shut.

Once she had gotten a hold of herself, Alexis joined me at the front of the car, shielding her eyes from the sun. "Looks like Chris still has the old Mustang." I narrowed my eyes at it. "You have got to be kidding me." It was a small car, its light blue paint chipping off. As a transformer, I found that disgusting. It was like watching clothes slowly tearing on a human.

"Okay, so far so good." Alexis whispered with a nervous little laugh. I held out my hand, which she took, squeezing it hard as we took the first step toward her house.

XXXXXX

Could I say that Dennis was happy to see me? Not exactly. When Alexis led me inside, yelling, "We're here!" you'd think there was a spotlight on me. Her dad and sister, apparently having a conversation (Gee, I wonder what about?) looked up, and stopped. Dennis gave me a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me-look, while Christine just stared at me.

Alexis nudged me as she announced, "Chris, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Gabriel!"

"We've actually been having a discussion about this young man, Alexis." her father broke in with a tone that implied something bad (surprise suprise).

I felt a little head rub up against my leg, helpfully breaking the tension for me. "Hey, Jinx!" I knelt to pick the black cat up, but she wriggled free and escaped into Alexis's arms. "She's not that used to you yet." she explained. I reached over and rumpled her ears anyway, Jinx purring while I did.

"Alexis? Gabriel?"

We turned to face Christine. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you have a seat?"

We plopped on the couch between the two chairs the other two were sitting in, causing Jinx to hop off of Alexis's lap from the sudden drop.

Before she could even ask a question, I bluntly asked my own. "What were you two talking about?" Oh, great. What a way to set off a conversation.

"Well...I just wanted to get to know you. You're my sister's first boyfriend, after all!" Chris chirped. Alexis gave her a look. "Do you mind not embarrassing me?"

She laughed. "Come on, sis! It's cute!" Her little sister blushed, and her dad stepped in. "Christine, stop humiliating your sister."

"Dad, it's just a joke!" I was already fed up with this little family discussion, and did the only thing I could: I let Alexis handle it. As much as I hated to admit it, I had no choice. If I did anything, I could get busted and kicked out for good, and that was a risk I really didn't wanna take right then.

She didn't let me down. "Oh yeah? You're just still bitter over the fact that I bedazzled your first boyfriend's jacket! Get over it sis! I was ten!" I didn't have a clue what bedazzling was, but her sister's reaction was priceless.

To stop an all-out-war, Dennis seperated both of them with his hands, and whispered very loudly, "Why don't you take this upstairs?"

"Take what? We're done." Christine replied with a sniff.

"UPSTAIRS! NOW!"

I actually jumped. Apparently, his military voice still existed. The three of us scurried up the stairs like Mini-Cons running from Megatron (I wasn't even close to afraid of Dennis, but hey, I couldn't act like a war seasoned transformer, now could I?), Jinx barely sliding in through the closing door to Alexis's room behind us.

XXXXXX

As Christine flopped down on Alexis's bed, forcing her sister to take the computer chair, me to take the floor, and Jinx to take the windowsill, I realized that I hadn't seen the inside of Alexis's room before.

It was pretty small, but nice in a way. The red bed was on the room's left wall, the windowsill built into the wall next to it. On the right was the computer desk and chair, covered in all kinds of random stuff. Pictures of places, some I've seen, others I haven't, lined the walls, along with astronomical charts. A collapsed telescope tripod lay at the foot of the bed. The walls were white, with different color splashes on them, and the floor was completely a color splash. Same with the window's curtains. I noticed a picture of Alexis as a little girl and her mom very close to the bed, and angled toward it. I felt guilty that even though I felt bad that Alexis lost her mom, I also felt relieved that I wouldn't have to worry about it. I'd often thought of it as a miracle that I didn't know my parents. Go figure.

"So tell me why you bring home a bad boy, and don't get busted for it!" Chris's anguished cry and Jinx's annoyed hiss jerked me out of my thoughts.

Alexis rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Because Gabe's not a jerk like Matt was!"

"Pfft! And this goth is any better? Puh-lease!"

I caught the finger she jabbed in my direction in my fist, and jerked it toward me, causing her to fall off of the bed. She must've been more quiet around her father, like Alexis was around Optimus. Whatever. I just spoke my mind whenever I wanted.

"Hey! That was rude!"

I shrugged. "You were being annoying."

As Chris pulled herself back up, Alexis added, "And he is not a goth!"

"What's a goth?" I asked.

"Wow, good to see you picked a guy with negative IQ points, 'Lex."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "He is NOT goth! Just because he wears a choker-"

"WHAT IS A GOTH?" I broke in.

Now it was her sister's turn to sigh in exasperation as Alexis explained. Personally, I'd seen it before. There were transformers who acted goth, but of course, not like humans did. Sideways had really dark humor for example, a lot of of Decepticons were predominantly black, etc. I really didn't see what the big deal was.  
Neither did Alexis. "Look, what're you getting at, Chris?"

She picked at the thick strap of her blue tank top in a bored way as she replied, "In case you haven't noticed, little girl, you brought home a goth kid with a giant bandage slathered across his head, and at this point I don't care where it came from. You're making a huge mistake."

I clenched my fists. What was it with me and not getting along with others? Did I smell? Did I somehow have a knife in my hand that only others could see?

"Why don't you just shut up for five minutes, and let us explain?" I muttered through gritted teeth, getting up to loom over her. She pretended to not be afraid of me, but I saw her throat move as she nodded. I heard Alexis murmur agitatedly, "People skills."

I heard her grip tightly onto the flimsy chair behind me as I reached back to undo my choker. Christine raised her eyebrow at me, wondering just what the hell was I doing. Relax, I was doing this all according to a plan.

Alexis zoomed by me as I dropped my hand to the side, the choker in it. Chris tried to let out a loud scream. She was instead knocked back against the bed, held down by her little sister. Jinx opened an eye from where she had been asleep, hissed at Christine again, then fell back asleep, not even caring about me. Funny.

I leaned back against the computer desk, waiting impatiently for her to quit wriggling around on the bed. If I hopped on there too, I would break it.

After about a minute went by, she finally got ahold of herself, and she was let go, sitting bolt upright on the bed, inching back against the wall behind her.

"Calm down, Chris. He's not gonna kill ya." Alexis sighed as she walked back over to me. I was debating whether or not if that was true. If she was going to act like this, we were going to get nowhere.

"He's a robot! Are you crazy?!" she whispered, tucking her legs into herself.

"Technically, no. And he won't hurt me." Alexis's hand brushed against mine, which I gently took. I had been getting that stupid feeling again, but I'd been doing my best to control it. Going crazy over her didn't seem like a good way to impress her family. Now, this method? It was hilarious.

Christine looked back and forth between the two of us, then finally sighed, "Well...Okay...But you better explain it all to me! And don't tell me you told Dad first!"  
This time I laughed, and her little sister replied, "Nah, this secret's too good!"

XXXXXX

Telling Christine everything was a little hard at first because she kept on saying that she had to be stoned or something. Like most things I heard, I didn't have any idea what she was talking about.

If I didn't have to be her guidebook to the transformers, I would've thrown her out a window. She asked way too many questions at once, and didn't seem to enjoy the fact there was a whole other thing she didn't know. But since she was Alexis's one alibi, I just gritted my teeth, and soldiered on.

"Well, why don't you guys show yourselves to everyone? I mean, you're really cool!" she asked when we'd finished. I put my face in my hand, frustrated, and Alexis explained very slowly, "Because you tried to scream your head off when you first saw Starscream, and he's just a hybrid. What if you saw a real transformer? And worse yet, what if a really creepy guy with a lot of guns and power saw them? That wouldn't be good."

"Yeah, but we could still help you guys. We can give you those guns to fight and win the war on Cybertron."

"Excuse me, Christine, but do you see any transformer beating the slag out of any of your enemies on purpose?" I asked sarcastically, my head still down.

"Okay, okay. I get the point! I just don't want my sister going millions of lightyears away where she can suffer and die!"

I jerked my head up, anger and the feeling Alexis called love coursing through me for a moment as I pulled Alexis to me from where we were sitting on the floor. "Over my dead body. Got it?"She flushed, then gave Chris a reassuring nod.

The elder Wilson sighed. "All right. Danica couldn't come with us on the trip. I'll tell Dad that you're going to sleep over at one of your friends' places tonight to celebrate spring break, then you'll meet us at the airport tomorrow. You've got a friend that's a girl now, right?" Her little sister bristled. "I've got Holly. Good enough for you?"

"Fine. Good thing you don't own a cell. It'll make it easier to lie. I doubt you'd be spending much on the west coast even if you were there, so I'll take care of your expenses. You'd be spending most of your time stargazing, anyway."

"Love you too, Chrissy." Alexis grumbled as we left the room.

XXXXXX

I didn't need to ask Alexis about her sister. She took care of that. "Ugh! I can't believe her! Even now, she talks down on me!" she yelled, slamming her hands down on the dashboard.

It'd taken a while to speak with Dennis, but I think he was glad that she'd be away from me for a while on her little trip. Heh. If only he knew.

"She makes Red Alert look loose, and if you repeat that, Sideswipe, I am jamming a metal rod so far up your tailpipe, you'll never sit again." The radio kicked onto a song that was titled "Fogotten" on the screen. You can figure out what happened by yourself.

"Tell me about it! She thinks that since Mom died, she can tell me what to do! Argh! I'm so mad, I could just-I could just-Ugh!"

"Wanna pull over?" I asked after a short silence.

"Yeah. Let's stop there."

Sideswipe pulled to a halt in front of a restaurant. "I was hungry anyway." Alexis muttered as she got out.

XXXXXX

"Here ya go! Two cheeseburgers with fries!" announced our waitress as she set our food down.

"Thanks, Barb."

"So, tell me exactly why you didn't say your sister was a control-freak?" I asked, popping a fry in my mouth.

Alexis sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Because she's the only one in my family that would somewhat help me. But, like my dad, she doesn't like change, even though she's not nearly as bad as he can be." I snorted. "I can tell."

She looked down at the table, stirring her drink subconsciously. "Mom always said I was just like her. She loved new things."I stopped chewing to let out a laugh at how much of an understatemen that was, and she joined in a little, then stopped. "Chris tried being like my mom, and that didn't work at all." She sounded bitter. I couldn't blame her.

"So, she tried to act so mature and smart when she really wasn't?"

Alexis shrugged, sheepishly looking up at me.

"Hey, don't feel bad about it. I've had my own fair share of 'em." Much more than that, actually. It seemed like every Decepticon was like a sparkling playing leader.

She gave a nod, and finally started eating, and the conversation finally was normal. Well, as normal as it could get with a hybrid talking to a human. Still, I couldn't shake the suspicion that she wasn't telling me something.

XXXXXX

I was right. As we were leaving the restaurant, my arm around her, she stopped walking and looked up at the stars. "Wonder if Earth'll look this far away?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, my arm sliding off. Dumb question. I knew exactly what she was getting at.

Alexis shrugged with a sigh, then turned to face me, her eyes glassy for once. It made me feel cold somehow. "I'm scared."

"C'mere." I pulled her to me, hugging her tightly. I couldn't say it'd be okay because I really didn't know, even though I hated to admit it, but the hug helped a little.

I noticed a few people looking at us as they walked by, but I didn't give a crap. So what if they saw us?

I felt my pulse kick up a little as she kissed my cheek, pulling away, giving me a nod and a small smile.

I had to stop myself from grimacing. Alexis really had no idea, no matter how hard she tried, of how much of a hell Cybertron was until she went there. And it wasn't going to be a pleasant surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

As we drove away from civilization, I noticed Alexis occasionally looking over her shoulder at places, probably taking a last look at them. Well, for a while, at least.

I tried to keep my gaze on the road ahead of us, still playing my part, streetlights and lights from passing buildings falling over us at a fast pace. It made me miss home, well, at least, what home used to look like.

I was created after the war had begun, but I had still seen pieces of Cybertron lit up in the night like frozen fireworks. But what I knew was supposed to be a fourth of what it used to look like. Most of the destruction was caused by either side trying to limit the other side's resources, and the rest was collateral damage from battles. Well, the resource depletion plan had worked. Being on Earth was proof of that. I wondered what exactly I'd be coming home to.

Alexis's hand on mine made me jump. "It's okay. No one'll see us now."

My own hands slid off the wheel, and Sideswipe let out a sigh of relief. "I didn't know how much longer I was gonna take that."

"You're not gonna want to talk back home." I muttered, earning me a frown from Alexis.

I thought he didn't hear me, but he replied mechanically after a while, "Yeah."

"You okay, Sideswipe?" she asked.

"I'm just nervous, is all."

There probably would have been more tension around the base if we hadn't had to find that Mini-Con and nearly get killed in the process. The others were able to take out part of it on Megatron and his gang of idiots, but I still felt nerves prickling around me before I went to sleep that night. We weren't scared, but we wanted to get the to other Autobots in time, hopefully finding that not too many were lost.

It was kinda sad that while Optimus really did care about each life left on Cybertron individually, I just cared about how big our advantage would be in battle. Well, what can I say? The only Autobots that somewhat trusted me were on Earth, and the rest either A) Saw me as a prick, B) Saw me as a worthless piece of slag, C) Didn't care one way or another about me, or D) All of the above. What wonderful choices.

"That makes three of us." I finally added, leaning back. That was when I realized that the two of them had changed the subject while I was deep in thought. I shrugged.

Alexis shook her finger at me, and said in an old-lady sounding voice, "Stay on topic, sonny!"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Mommy," and couldn't help but laugh. I was surprised that Sideswipe stayed on the road as we got into a play fight.

XXXXXX

"Hey, guys!" Rad waved at us as we got out of the car.

I let out a small sigh of relief, glad that Rad and I were done fighting. If I'd had to spend a whole day with him on the shuttle, let alone Cybertron, I would've had to pull my sword on him. Okay, I'm kidding!

Sideswipe transformed behind us, and let out a sigh. "Sorry I can't stay with you guys. I gotta head off to help prepare the shuttle."

"Ouch. A day of silence, and a night of work. They're killing you, man." came Carlos's voice as he came into the hall from the rec room, a bulky backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Tell me about it." he muttered, walking away.

A red blurr zoomed in from behind Carlos, stopping before me and transforming, followed by orange one that stopped in front of Alexis.

"How's that for an entrance?" Swindle asked

"You've been that bored, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, smirking a little.

Swindle shrugged. "That easy to notice?"

"Kinda." Alexis added, giggling.

"But it was still good, right?" Swindle pressed hopefully.

"You almost ran me over, dude!" Carlos mock accused.

I winked. "Don't worry, that's double points!"

"Hey!"

Swindle got out of the way as he ran toward me, and I swerved to the side with an over-dramatic yawn.

"Wh-wh-whoa!" he yelled as the backpack forced him to fall on his aft.

"Um, Carlos? Next time, take the bag OFF before persuing someone in blood-thirsty revenge, okay?" Rad was clearly trying not to laugh as he helped him up.

Alexis, the Mini-Cons, and I were lost causes.

He blushed, then muttered, "Anyway, I better get this to the shuttle before someone has a cow. C'mon, Grindor!"

As he zoomed away on his skateboard, I felt a little sorry for the Mini-Con as I watched the bag bounce back and forth.

Rad stretched as Highwire appeared, Sureshock and Swindle going over to talk with him for a while. Yeah, so much for "faithful companions." What? I'm kidding!

As we followed him back into the rec room, Alexis couldn't help but ask, "How'd you get out?"

He plopped down and replied, "The Eco-Bio Club field trip. Holly said she's gonna miss seeing me there."

"The wha?" I asked, completely confused.

"The Eco-Bio Club does a lot of stuff with nature, and their membership is open all year round. You're considered a member only when you join them for a task or trip. This trip Rad's talking about doesn't allow cell phones or any kind of contact with the modern world for one week, so the members get to have a better look a nature all during spring break until they head back home. I went on it last year, and it was interesting, but after the first few days, it dr-uh-oh."

I figured it out a little before she did. Holly was going on the trip, but Alexis was supposed to be staying over at Holly's this night, and if Dennis suddenly got the annoying urge to check on her...

"Relax, the trip starts tomorrow!" Rad quickly reassured, his hands out in front of him.

I let out a sigh of relief. Personally, I couldn't care less about the stupid trip, but the point was that we'd somehow managed to keep our dirty little secret safe.

"Wait, what about your parents tonight, Rad?" Alexis asked after a moment, trying to make sure we took care of all the loose ends.

He dropped his gaze for a moment, then looked back up at us. "I snuck out."

That was one of the dumbest things I'd ever thought he'd do. Sneaking out would go either way. It looked like Rad didn't get caught, but what if one of his parents woke up during the night, or if they wanted to see him off the next morning? Once again, I was happy I didn't have any parents. What a nuisance!

"So, what if one of them goes looking for you?" I asked, folding my arms.

Rad sighed. "Dad and Mom have work, and I told them the bus for the trip leaves early. Dad's not too crazy about it, and Mom's been really worn out lately. She needs the sleep. That's okay, though. I said good-bye to them tonight. I just wish they knew what I meant."

"You didn't tell Holly everything, did you?" Alexis asked.

"'Course not. I wouldn't want her to worry. Holly and I kinda had a talk yesterday." He was dodging around something. I could read it plainly on his face.

Alexis gave me a questioning look, and I shrugged. Typical teenage drama WAS NOT what I was worried about right now.

"You know, I'm gonna miss her, too." he said half to himself.

"Hey, guys! Billy and Fred are here!" Carlos called.

XXXXXX

Finally, we were ready. Carlos, Fred, and Billy had all told their parents they were going on the band trip, Fred being the only one not having a cell phone, but that wasn't a big deal; Billy was going to take care of it. Alexis had saved time by sneaking her stuff over last night, while the boys brought all their stuff the day we were taking off.

Needless to say, they were a bit shocked to know they missed out on a terrifying battle while they either slacking off or hanging around. Oh, well, more action for me.

Like Rad's trip, the band left early in the morning, so these three had snuck out, too. Great, more kids to get caught. Well, then again, I'd say that two human adults that were TINY in comparison to eight full-grown transformers would be a bit outmatched.

I slipped on my thick uniform in my room on board the Axalon, grimacing at heavy it felt on me. I didn't really have a choice, though, since my human body would be crushed like a can without this astronaut suit on. Afterwards, I could take it off, but I'd have to put it back on again when we landed on Cybertron. Why? Um, let's see: No breathable air outside, just in the buildings.

"I'm not even going to ask how I look." I muttered to Swindle.

He laughed. "Cheer up, Starscream! At least you don't look like a traffic cone!"

"Not helping." I replied as I reached for my choker, pulling it off. My wings tore through the suit, but stopped too much air from getting out with their thickness.

I carefully placed the collar inside a niche in the wall, and hit the button beside it, locking it in.

"You're going to come back for it, right?" Swindle asked carefully from behind me.

I turned back to look at him, and nodded slowly. "I promise."

After a moment of silence had passed between us, I suggested we'd better go get Alexis. Prime had told us there would be a meeting on the bridge before we took off.

XXXXXX

"Come in!" she called after I knocked.

Alexis's room was a huge contrast to her one on Earth, since she only took the bare essentials, save for one thing on the bed: the Mars rock necklace.

"Oh, hey!" She picked the necklace up, trying to fasten it around her neck.

"Here, I'll help you out."

I felt a little embarrassed as I clasped it together for her, remembering how she'd ponytailed my hair in the desert, and put my mask on for the masquerade.

Still, I didn't mind having her hair right in front of my nose.

"Starscream?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"What'd Earth look like to you when you first came here? I mean, I've seen pictures, and stuff, but I heard it's nothing like the real thing."

I let out a sigh. (Disclaimer here: I was a DECEPTICON when I first got here, okay?) Personally, I had thought of it like one of the things you'd see after drinking high-grade energon, and when I got on it, I'd thought of it nothing more than a mudball.

I think she got my hint. "Okay, rephrase that. What do you think of it now?"

I shrugged. "It's hard to say, really. Earth's almost completely different from Cybertron, so you've got me out of my comfort zone there. But you know, it's kind of interesting, seeing the different parts of the world, even though I could've done without sand and dust up my tailpipe."

The two of us laughed, and she smiled, turning to face me. "Glad you like it, Starscream. I bet it'll be the same way for me on Cybertron."

I found it hard to smile back. "Let's hope so."

XXXXXX

Optimus looked over each of us, transformer, human, and hybrid, proudly, and a little sadly. I held back a sigh.

I wasn't ungrateful to him, but Prime had grown a litttle too attached to us than a leader normally good. Well, then again, it was my first time being under an Autobot leader. Woohoo.

"I'm proud of all of you," he finally said, and I had the feeling he was smiling under that mask, "You've each shown what it truly means to be an Autobot, whether transformer or otherwise. And I'm especially proud of those who didn't have to devote themselves to that, but did so because it was right."

I couldn't help but feel my own pride wash over me when he said that. Even though I didn't really belong with the Autobots, at least I managed to impress someone.

"Do not lose sight of those strengths and values you have shown, for we will need them on Cybertron," he broke off, took a long pause, and then continued, "I may not see some of you again, but I will tell you this: I'll never forget any of you, and I will see to it that neither will the Autobot race. Each of you will be remembered as a hero."

I raised an eyebrow, finding that hard to believe when it came to me.

He saluted, which all of us, Jetfire, Hot Shot, Sideswipe, Red Alert, Scavenger, Blurr, the Mini-Cons, even Alexis, Rad, Carlos, Billy, Fred, and I copied together.

Optimus Prime then yelled, "Autobots, roll out!"

Blurr took the cockpit, surprising me a little. I'd thought of him as a sniper, but not a pilot. Guess everyone had their own second ability. The others took their postions in different areas, Prime taking the middle.

As much as I wanted to show the ground-bound 'Bots a thing or two about flying, I was still pint-sized compared to them, so I got the 'thrill of the ride' instead.

"Come on, let's go check it out!" Carlos yelled, the others running after him.

I caught Alexis's arm as the engines revved, the ship around us groaning to life. "Want an even better view?"

She grinned. "Okay!"

Sureshock and Swindle had already gone on ahead with High Wire and Grindor, so it was just the two of us.

"Hang on!" I swooped upwards, careening out of the hallway, and flying up into the highest area without going on the deck.

She gasped as Earth fell away from us quickly. I'd gone up in the air at the same time the ship had taken off.

The Axalon burst out through the water's depths, slicing through the night.

Personally, I was wondering how many people saw us, but didn't really care. What could they do now?

The stars we were heading for got huge as we cleared the atmosphere with a heavy push, floating in the space above the Earth. My eyes narrowed as I saw the Moon.

"It's...like a jewel." she whispered.

Compared to the Earth, the Moon seemed dull, lifeless, safe. Yeah, SEEMED.

"We'd better head down soon," I whispered, "Trouble might start."

It was like I gave a cue.

The ship around us heaved with the impact of a shot, and Alexis clung to my wing for dear life.

I divebombed back to the floor, barely stopping in time to yell, "WHAT THE SLAG IS GOING ON?!" even though I already knew.

That got drained out anyway by Optimus yelling over the noise as the ship lurched again, "KIDS! GET BACK HERE NOW! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

"I thought we were ahead of the Decepticons!" Alexis yelled as I ran to the bridge's entrance, pulling her along with me.

I shook my head. "If I know Meagtron, he's bound to have a couple of tricks left over."

That's when our ship gave about the biggest lurch from oh say, ANOTHER ship ramming into us.

And yet, all I could do was say (very sarcastically), "And here I was thinking they'd make it fair for once by givivng us a head start."


	3. Chapter 3

A LOUD thumping, as in almost-breaking-the-ceiling-thumping came from above us. Yup, someone was on top of us.

I almost missed Optimus's rapid-fire command for Jetfire, Scavenger, Hoist, and Hot Shot to follow him up as Fred yelled, "What're we gonna do?!"

"Yeah, we gotta do something!" Carlos chimed in.

I shifted my gaze from Optimus's band running down the hallway to the remaining Autobots, now intent on at least trying to keep the ship SOMEWHAT under control.

I could bet my spark's remaining fragments that Megatron had taken the Requiem Blaster with him, and THAT would be one hell of a problem. Take it from experience.

"Wait a minute, the Mini-Cons! We have to keep the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield away from them!" Alexis yelled.

I felt my eye twtich as I remembered the little "incident" Jetfire and I had had on Mars. We'd had the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield with us, and guess who, Megatron had took the Requiem Blaster with him. I had no idea what the hell had happened to blow us halfway across the freaking Asteroid Belt, but I REALLY didn't want THAT to happen again.

"Starscream, you coming!"

Rad jerked me out my little stroll down memory lane, and I felt like a complete idiot.

With a quick nod, I came after him, Swindle alongside me, asking, "What was that?!"

Another thump came from above us.

"Something I'd rather not think about. We'll leave it at that."

I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks as the others raced on ahead, my partner matching me.

"Okay, what's wrong now?" he asked, sounding a little frustrated.

"I'm not running." I growled, turning around.

Swindle let out a sigh, catching my point as I ran in the opposite direction I was going in, asking softly. "What about Alexis? You want her to worry?"

I stopped for a second as I held a helmet in my hand, my back to him, a very loud thump making things a little more awkward. Oh, great. I'd been dumb enough to forget about that, and what's worse, my own Mini-Con was once again playing conscience. Ugh!

I closed my eyes for a moment, then made my choice, placing the helmet on my head. "Why would she worry? She'll know."

That's when I realized how cold I'd sounded, and the bandage on my head felt like it was sticking out like a sore thumb. I had no idea why the slag I had said that, but I also knew I had to.

Swindle knew too, of course, and showed it as the thumping continued above us by placing his hand on my shoulder. "Star, I'm worried about you, too. What's wrong with sitting out one measly little battle?"

I turned to face him, trying hard to keep my face neutral. I couldn't let myself get mad at him. "Swindle, nothing's going to change until Megatron's gone."

"I know, but-"

A heavy jerk sent us flying, and I almost landed on top of him.

"I think we're done talking." I muttered.

"Yeah. Let's go."

I felt like crap after our little chat, but I made myself get over it.

No, I wasn't dumb enough to think that I would kill Megatron while floating in the middle of outer space with over five mechs crashing together around me, but I wasn't being a coward.

This time, Alexis wasn't in danger, the Mini-Cons were safe, and Megatron was making an ass of himself yet again. What was there to lose? A chunk of metal nearly hit me as I whizzed up to the deck. Oh yeah, the ship. I kinda didn't read that part of the memo.

I gritted my teeth. Well, at least we could still float home.

Swindle jerked my wings back as I was blinded by a white flash of light, accompanied by a loud blasting noise.

"Holy slag! Thanks!" I yelled, my eyes wide.

No one had heard me over the chaos. Could I describe the battle on the deck like the one on the Moon? Uh, no. See, last time I was hovering over a shelf, away from the confusion, and now I was basically near the middle of it.

My partner clung to me for dear life as I sped through the carnage, heading straight for my target.

I whipped sideways to avoid getting grabbed by Scavenger. Primus, couldn't he mind his own business?!

He caught me anyway, and as I twisted and screamed in his hand to be let go, Swindle yelling along with me, I saw a bright glow of gold light out of the corner of my eye, and everything just stopped.

"Oh, FREAKING SLAG." I growled as Megatron stared down at his little weapon like it was a new toy.

"AUTOBOTS! FALL BACK!" Optimus yelled, probably remembering the communications he'd gotten at the base from Jetifre and me.

Of course, slag pile with horns over there didn't give that order.

I felt fear slice through me, and I was actually grateful as Scavenger took me below.

The last thing I saw was Jetfire scrambling down after us, and then we were thrown like tiny rocks to Primus knew where.


	4. Chapter 4

"Starscream! Starscream, wake up!" I know it's hard to believe for you by now, but yeah, I had been knocked out, and didn't have any freaky dreams. I slowly pushed myself up off the floor to see Swindle, currently worried out of his mind.

"Oh, great. We're dead, and in some weird-ass afterlife, aren't we?" I muttered. Unfortunately (sarcasm again) that wasn't true.

Scavenger wasn't up yet. His fingers were curled above us in a kind of protective cage. The way he did it, though, made it a little hard to get out of, and I didn't suddenly have the super strength to pry the fingers apart. This was my what, third time trapped in a hand? My life was continuing to reach record lows.

I didn't have to suffer any longer because he woke up, sending the two of us tumbling the short distance to the floor. I sat up, and quickly scanned the area, my eyes widening. The Axalon had taken a lot of damage, but it would've been a lot worse (as in nothing left) if the Hydra Cannon had been pointed directly at us. I shuddered as I glanced around at the thick cracks coating the ship's ceiling and floor.

Hoist was still sprawled on the floor, but his fingers were twitching. Hot Shot's optics were flickering online. I saw Prime lurch up with a massive grunt, and heard a very painful groan from the remaining mech.  
I felt a lump in my throat as Optimus yelled, "JETFIRE!"

That's when I saw him, and winced, while Swindle cringed next to me. Jetfire's back was sliced, oozing energon and broken from part of the ceiling falling on him. I remembered him being the last one down, and that was only by a second.

"Scavenger, tell Red Alert, and report to the bridge!"

"I'm on it!"

As he left, I took my somehow-not-broken helmet off, wiping a hand across my forehead. I had to pull myself back together.

"Guys...I'm fine...Really..." Jetfire muttered between heavy pants as Prime supported him as gently as possible against his side. Uh-huh. Right.

Hoist was next to get up. "Oh no, what happened?!"

"Hoist, get Jetfire to med bay. Red Alert'll be waiting there."

Prime handed him over, even though he was giving the I'll-be-fine crappy speech as he was led away.

I let out a sigh. I'd seen and had enough wounds to know it wouldn't kill him, but it could keep him from transforming or flying for a while, making him completely helpless. And like me, he'd rather blast his head off than be helpless.

Optimus went over and shook Hot Shot awake, worry cleanly showing in his optics. As he finally woke up, Prime seemed to realize I was there, his optics landing on us, and looking like they were on fire. That wasn't exaggerating.

"Starscream, why were you and Swindle out there?" he said very tightly.

And that's when I realized I was still holding my helmet. Slag.

I clenched my fist. What was his problem now? Wasn't he just praising all of us for everything we could do not too long ago?

Well, I was about ready to say, "Oh, you know, to observe the regular phenoma of active comets" when Hot Shot asked, "Um, sir? Where is everybody?"

Optimus jerked his head away from me, and said painfully, "Jetfire's hurt. Take Starscream back with the other kids and then report to the bridge. We've gotten in deeper than we'd thought already."

XXXXXX

Was Alexis happy to see me? Erm, let's just say that Swindle whispered, "I told you so," to me later on.

"Where were you?!" she yelled in a whirlwind of messed-up hair from being banged around, and a flushed face from being angry.

I rubbed my temples in frustration, then muttered, "If it means anything to you, Jetfire's hurt."

"WHAT?!"

Fred looked ready to cry. Billy had jumped back a step. Carlos was shocked. Alexis had her hands over her mouth. Rad, however, with a worried look on his face, asked softly, "Can he fly?"

I narrowed my eye. "I don't know. This wouldn't have happened if you'd gotten the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield as far away as you could have."

"Hey, don't blame us! We tried our best!" Billy yelled.

"That's why you should've been here, Starscream! We got them as far as we could, but we can't fly!" Alexis accused. Oh great, not long into the trip, and everyone was already pissed at me. I really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Look, where were you when the weapons fused?"

"You mean when they started glowing gold?" Fred asked.

I felt ready to say, "No, when they were glowing pink," but I realized they actually hadn't seen this thing before. "Yeah."

"Oh, we were down a couple flights of stairs."

"Near any windows?"

"Nope."

I closed my eyes for a minute. Looked like the weapons didn't have to be right next to each other to make the power, which meant...I opened them, and this time saw the deep cracks on the ceiling on the floor, not unlike the ones near the deck.

"So, that means..." Rad let his voice trail off, getting my point.

"We really shouldn't have these guys with us." Carlos finished.

"Well, what do we do now? We can't just dump them into space!" Billy argued.

"I know that! I'm just making an observation, man!" Carlos shot back.

I tuned them out after that, thinking as I stared up at the cracks. I couldn't bear to leave Runway, Sonar, and Jetstorm behind after everything that had happened between us, and leaving Dirt Boss, Mirage, and Downshift would be just as cruel. Still, I didn't think we could stand another hit from that thing. Boy, I was shaping up into a coward.

"Starscream! Starscream!" Swindle's tugging on my arm broke me out of my thoughts. I looked around. Everyone was staring at me. "Um, what was the question again?" I asked sheepishly.

Carlos and Billy let out sighs of exasperation, then Rad asked again, "What do you think, Starscream?"

I shrugged. "Optimus told us to head to bridge. You guys can bite each others' heads off there for all I care."

As the two took off, Rad trying to break them up, Fred said he was going to see if Jetfire was okay. Alexis stayed behind with me. "We really needed you down here, Starscream." she muttered.

"And what would I have done? As far as the Mini-Cons are concerned, I think they would have combined anyway even if I'd flown them to the bottom of the ship. We need to get them miles away so they won't fuse."

"That's not the point! You just flew out into a battle in space with your Mini-Con with nothing protecting you two but a spacesuit and a pair of wings!" Alexis yelled, hands on her hips.

"What did you want me to do? Cut and run like a coward?"

"That's exactly what you did to us, Starscream! Come on, Sureshock. Let's go find Jetfire." She brushed by me, cold as the words she'd just said.

"Ouch." Swindle muttered. I didn't reply as I watched her turn the corner, still surprised. I hadn't seen her that cold before.

"Hey, Starscream!" I was starting to wonder if I was going to have my name changed. I turned to see Runway, Sonar, and Jetstorm, the three of them nearly knocking me over as they skidded to a halt. "Haven't seen you in a while!"

I tried to smile, but couldn't. "You all right?"

"Yeah, but look what we did to your ship." Sonar sighed.

"It's all right. You couldn't control it."

"But if you take us to Cybertron, it'll happen again." Jetstorm replied.

Runaway said something to Swindle that I couldn't understand, and Swindle turned to me and said, very softly, "They don't want to go."

And suddenly I was at a loss for words.

XXXXXX

"We're somewhere beyond the Milky Way galaxy, but that blast knocked us sideways. We still have 5000 light years to cover before we're even near Cybertron." Blurr reported frustratedly on the bridge.

"What about the ship?" Optimus asked.

"As far as I'm concerned, we can make it, but I don't know if Megatron'll be ahead of us. One more big hit, and we're done, sir." He sounded ready to tear the mech responsible apart for putting the Axalon in this state.

"Slagging luck." I muttered.

Blurr, Sideswipe, and Red Alert were fine, being in the middle of the ship. The hit had come from the left, knocking us to the right. Only Jetfire had had a really bad injury, and so far, none of us were allowed in med bay. I normally hated worrying about others, but I was worried about him.

Swindle hadn't said anything since translating for Runway, but I was all right with that. I had enough to deal with already.

Prime turned to face us on the floor, Alexis standing as far as she could from me this time, pissing me off.

"Starscream, it was your responsibility to protect the Mini-Cons-"

"That's not fair!" I interrupted, clenching my teeth in pain as Billy tugged on my ponytail, whispering for me to shut up.

"No, you have to learn to accept what you have to do, as I've told you time and time again." He sounded very agitated with me. Pfft. He had to learn to get over himself.

"Why should I? Runway told me himself that they never wanted to come!" And that's when I realized I'd stepped over the line. Swindle punched me in the arm, actually causing some pain. I'd only said that to press the fact that I was right to go after Megatron, meanwhile Runway had trusted me not to say that. A new record low.

Optimus showed no emotion for a moment, so Hot Shot asked, "Um, sir?"

Finally, he replied in a final tone to me, "We have no choice. You're an Autobot, Starscream. Act like one." 


	5. Chapter 5

Too bad the whole chewing out session didn't stop there. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as I'd thought it'd be because Prime ordered everyone to get to work repairing and restarting the Axalon as soon as possible. Of course, I still got some pretty rude glances from Hot Shot and Sideswipe as they walked by me. See, this is the part where "not quite friends" comes in. I couldn't blame 'em, though. If either of them had used a secret to cover their own afts, I'd be pissed too. Oh well.

I'm doing a little AU of Puppet here. The reason why I have Billy mention a girl in this chapter is to give his character more dimention. I loved writing how Starscream comes to Alexis's rescue! I don't own Transformers. Can't wait 'til Transformers 2 this month!

Alexis didn't even give me a look before setting off toward med bay, but Sureshock had stopped to talk with Swindle in their own language again. I'd have to have been blind and deaf to think that it hadn't gone bad. I heard the guys come after me as I left with Swindle, asking, "Lemme guess, she's ticked at you for telling me?"

He glared at me. "I don't remember telling any of your secrets to everyone in the room, Screamer." Oh joy, I'd gotten my own partner mad at me. That used to happen in reverse because of some dumb thing he did, like run off around the Decepticon base, wreaking blissful havoc among the other Mini-Cons, leaving me to clean up after him. I felt like slag everytime I got mad at him, but at least it was over dumb stuff. 'Course, my mistakes were dumb ones, too, but they were usually worse things, like now. We'd get over them, too, but it'd take more time, and it always felt worse.

"You just going to walk away, Starscream?" called Billy, sounding aggravated. I rolled my eyes, my back still to them. "What else am I going to say? 'Oh, I'm sooo sorry, I didn't mean to accidentally blurt that out like some brain-dead sparkling.' What'll that ever do?" I growled, swinging around to face four sets of glares.

"So? At least that'll be something!" Carlos shot back.

"Weren't you two just fighting oh, I don't know, less than ten minutes ago?"

"That's not the point!" Now all three were yelling at me.

"Okay, fine! I'll admit that I said that because of me, not the Mini-Cons, happy now?"

That was when Swindle's head spun in circles, and he started beeping at a hundred miles a minute. Even if he'd been speaking English, I wouldn't have figured him out. Highwire and Grindor, who were next to Rad and Carlos, started acting in the same way, too, leaving us to stare. After I didn't know how long, they stopped, and Swindle whispered, "They're coming."

"Who is?" I asked.

"The rest."

XXXXXX

Turned out that all of the other Mini-Cons had been acting in that weird-ass way. Everyone (save for Red Alert and Jetfire) came to the bridge with them.

Unlike Megatron, who probably would have throttled Leader-One to know exactly what was going on, Optimus gently bent down as Highwire, Grindor, and Sureshock merged into Perceptor, and asked, "Sparkplug told me that the rest are coming. You mean the other Mini-Cons on Earth?"

He nodded, then gestured out the window.

"In space, too?"

Another nod.

What I really wasn't getting here was why the Mini-Cons were all coming if they'd just said that they didn't want to. I then decided to file this in the "weird stuff I shouldn't be thinking about" category. Yeah, I know. I'd asked Swindle from time to time about the odd things he and his pals tend to do, but those have gotten me nowhere, since he never wanted to talk about it, and I really didn't want to be following Megatron's example. Made my skin crawl.

"Hey, look!" Blurr yelled in surprise, pointing out from the cockpit to the glass right in front of him. Turning, I felt my mouth drop open as I saw a green flash of light flying next to us, though it was kind of far away. More lights quickly joined it, streaking across.

"They're here." Swindle whispered from next to me, barely containing his excitement.

"It looks as if most of them are hovering over the deck." Blurr reported, sounding like he couldn't believe what was going on.

"Sir?"

Optimus turned at Sideswipe's voice. "Yes?"

"Would it be all right if we saw this? I mean, if we don't take that long?"

I could tell that Prime was smiling under his faceplate. Made me wonder that how a soft mech like him became a powerful commander all at once. I just didn't get it. Megatron was always cruel and cold. There was no moment that I really found any warmth from him. He talked, laughed, and smiled, but all of that happened only when things went his way. As far as I could tell, his happiness centered around his extreme want to win this war. Then there was Optimus. What made him happy was seeing all of us grow and be safe. I remembered the conversation I'd had with him back on Earth. This was war, Prime, not parenting. Unless he learned that, we were all going to die because of him being so soft. Then again, with Megatron, we were all going to die when he got tired of having us around, or we outlived our use. What the slag was the right way to do this?!

"Yes, of course." he replied enthusiastically. Typical, just typical.

XXXXXX

"Wow, look at that one!" Alexis cried, pointing at a particularly fast-moving Mini-Con. Swindle couldn't stop trembling from next to me. I had to grab his shoulders to keep him steady. If I hadn't left the Decepticons, I doubted that he would being seeing everyone again, exactly the way they should be. I remembered pulling him out of a fight with Crumplezone while having Cyclonus bitch at me about how Swindle had smashed his chin (my aft). Swindle had told me later on while I was helping him patch himself up that Crumplezone hadn't really been that bad to begin with, but now that he had been around Cyclonus and Cyclonus only for too long, he started acting like a jerk. So apparently I was Mother Freaking Teresa (overheard Christine saying that) compared to them. I had to admit, it was really impressive. The lights zoomed in every which direction, making all kinds of patterns, each glowing the same light green color.

"Wish Noelle could've seen this." Billy whispered.

"Huh?" I asked, turning to face him.

He gave an embarrassed shrug, obviously surprised that someone had heard him. "She's the girl I was dancing with. We're going to give dating a try after spring break."

I smiled bitterly, and then turned away from him to keep watching, seeing the other Mini-Cons scampering around. After Swindle stopped feeling like he was in the middle of an earthquake, I let him go to join the others.

That's when I saw it.

It looked like a star had just vanished into nothing, which I thought was just my mind playing tricks. That's when the dark space got bigger and bigger, sucking up more stars. And it was heading for US.

"Prime, look!" I screamed.

He jerked around to look at me, and I pointed out toward the thick darkness. With wide optics, he yelled, "BACK IN THE SHIP! NOW!"

Everyone tried to grab the Mini-Cons and get going, making the whole scene basically turn into a whirlwind. Why did I have to let Swindle go? As I ran to find him, he sped over to me in car form. Okay, one safe. "Come on, let's go!" he yelled.

As pissed as I was at Alexis, I couldn't leave her out here. "Where is she?" I yelled over the confusion, looking around frantically.

Found her. She was on her side. Apparently, she'd slipped on the deck while running to grab Sureshock, who'd just zoomed to the side to avoid being trampled by Hoist, the darkness dangerously close.

I felt cold sweat run down my back. "Swindle, get down there, NOW! I'll be right behind you!" He hesitated.

"Just do it!" I yelled, hearing him speed away as I flew up into the air. If I'd taken him with me, it'd just be one more life to worry about.

Zooming over to Alexis, I screamed, "Grab on!"

Her fear-filled eyes darted from me to Sureshock, still too far away, and finally to the impending darkness. "I'll take care of Sureshock! TRUST ME!" I commanded, my voice cracking. My blood roared in my ears, and adrenaline pulsed through my body. The fear disappeared, and she nodded, grabbing my wing.

I put those Mini-Cons to shame as I rocketed over to Sureshock.

"You're not gonna make it, Starscream!" I felt Hot Shot grab me like a rag doll.

"What're you doing?!" I screamed, suddenly seeing that everyone else had made it to shelter.

"Giving you a head start!"

He flung me as far as he could, leaving the three of us screaming until we landed in someone else's hand.

"HOT SHOT!" Sideswipe yelled from next to us, running out to grab him as the darkness sucked him and Jolt away.

Prime grabbed Sideswipe, holding him back. "Forget it! We can't do anything now!"

As he yelled in protest, I punched the hand I was on, cussing, as the hole disappeared. That idiot! That slagging idiot!"

XXXXXX

I didn't think Hot Shot was dead for a moment. I mean, come on, he'd stood a bunch of mechs, including yours truly, kicking the slag out of him at the same time. No way could he die that easily! I wasn't going to accept it. He was going to live!

Alexis stayed by me after Scavenger had set us down. Keeping her face turned away from me, she removed her helmet. It slipped out of her hands, clattering to the floor as she broke into a sob, her face pushed into her hands. Sureshock was by her side in a second, trying to calm her down.

"Alexis!" Rad yelled, running over to us.

I knew exactly what was happening: shock. There was only one way I could help her, even though it tore at me.  
I grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at me, growling, "Snap out of it, Alexis! Now!"

She still continued to sob. I gritted my teeth. "I mean it!" Most of the team was gone, having run to the control room to check on Hot Shot. Made it easier to deal with her myself. Still, I did hear Carlos yelling at me to chill out. I didn't break eye contact, though tears were forming in my own eyes. "Alexis! Stop it! NOW!" I screamed with one massive shake.

She finally snapped out of it, taking a breath.

"You okay?" I whispered worriedly.

She nodded, pulling me to her.

"Thank Primus." I whispered into her hair. She'd really scared the hell out of me, but I wasn't about to say that out loud. I heard other sighs of relief around me, and let go of her to see Swindle, Grindor, and Highwire letting go of Sureshock, and Rad letting go of Carlos.

Alexis shook her head out as if to clear it. "Come on, we'd better see how Hot Shot is." she said in a firm tone. I couldn't help but smile for a moment, despite the circumstances.

XXXXXX

"What happened up there? You guys missed a lot!" Billy whispered urgently to us, Fred next to him now, a tiny bit ticked off at the fact that he hadn't been up on the deck with us, but mostly worried.

"What? What'd we miss?" Rad asked.

"Red Alert's got Jetfire in surgery. He says the ceiling did some real damage. I tried to cheer Jetfire up a little, but he was in too much pain." Fred moaned.

"Can he still fly?" I asked urgently.

He dropped his head into his elbows, and in a mournful tone, cried, "I don't know. Red Alert said it all depends on how the surgery goes. He's not even sure just how much stuff is in Jetfire's back!"

Alexis, Carlos, and Rad gasped. I slammed my hand into my fist, yelling, "No! He will fly! He's got to!"

"He doesn't have much of a choice, Starscream." came Optimus's voice.

I glared defiantly up at him. "Way to go Prime, just sit there and do nothing wh-" Billy's hand slapped over my mouth. "Before you do anything stupid, they found Hot Shot. He's on some weird planet. So, no, he's not sitting on his butt doing nothing!" Weird planet??? Could've fooled me. Was I really pissed at Optimus? No. Was I pissed at his everything-will-be-okay attitude? Yes.

"SIR!" Sideswipe yelled.

Prime jerked his head around. "What is it?"

"You won't believe this!!!"

He ran over, and then after a few moments of listening, yelled, "WHAT?!" leaving the rest of us confused.

Sideswipe, play back the message, and hit the speaker!" Hoist yelled impatiently. This was seriously grating on everyone's nerves.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

A burst of static that made me slam my hands over my ears came, then Hot Shot's faint voice, "O-Optimus? Wh-Argh!" I felt cold as Alexis's fingers gripped my hand hard at the sound of a shot, along with Megatron yelling, "Ready to die, Autobot?!"


	6. Chapter 6

It felt a little weird writing this chapter because of how the events of Puppet are altered here. I tried my best to portray Starscream's feelings of helplessness here, and I think I did pretty good. The fact that Blurr becomes quite pissed off will have more meaning later on in the story. My favorite part of writing this chapter was the scene between Starscream and Alexis at the end. I don't own Transformers.

Alexis's fingers dug into my hand as I growled, "I should be there." Great, just great. The mech that had just saved my hide not thirty minutes ago was on an unknown planet with no one to protect him against Megatron of all Decepticons! I flashed back to when Megatron had briefly captured Hot Shot during our invasion of the Autobots' base (yeah, it's weird to say that now), and used him against Optimus. The bad thing was, I knew then that he could've crushed him to bits if he'd really wanted to, and even though Hot Shot was stronger now, he was still too small and didn't have a special weapon. I wanted more than anything to be down there with him. If I was there, I'd...I'd...Well, I'd help somehow. Once again, I felt completely helpless.

"Calm down, Starscream!" Prime ordered me. As much as I wanted to tell him to frag off, I knew he was right. I was already heaving for air. Looking around, I saw everyone else wasn't doing that well either. Hoist was slumped over his panel, Blurr was shaking his head slowly in disbelief from the cockpit, and Fred was muttering, "This can't be happening! This can't be happening!" as the other boys looked on, pale-faced. Optimus had his back to me, and Sideswipe was repeatedly calling over the ship's comlink, Scavenger watching him intently, to reach Hot Shot. Nothing came but static.

"Don't be crazy, Screamer. He'll be okay." Swindle whispered to me.

I jerked my head down at him. "Huh?"

"Just wait." he whispered. For the first time in my life, I was ready to wring his neck out. I knew Swindle wouldn't play a trick that nasty on me, but he seemed too serious to be just reassuring me. He kept his optics on the mechs in front of us, not looking at me for a moment. I noticed the other Mini-Cons doing the same thing.

"Why can't we can't we hear him?!" Alexis hissed in frustration. I didn't even try to make her calm down because I was feeling the exact same way.

I can't say how long we just stood there, having no idea what the slag to do, but I will say it was LONG. To tell the truth, even while I was frustrated, I was feeling a little smug that Optimus for once didn't know what to do, and couldn't tell us like little sparklings that everything would be okay. That's what he got for putting on that act for too long.

A loud, musical noise broke my train of thought. I started for a second, then realized what it was, looking down at Swindle again.

"The Mini-Cons...They're singing again!" Rad whispered. Personally, the tune creeped me out more than anything. It was just like when the Mini-Cons talked in their own language. Even though I wasn't stupid enough to pry, it put me on edge that they could do things that I didn't know about, even if they turned out to be good. It was like standing in a dark corner around others you didn't know. Some may be nice, and the leftovers would be cruel. This is why stuff went into the "things I shouldn't be thinking about" bin, or I'd die of nerves.

Alexis's grip on my hand relaxed while mine tightened on hers. "It'll be okay, Starscream." she said softly.  
I was more hoping than believing that she was right while I watched Swindle sing.

Then, the green lights from before streaked above us, all heading in one direction.

"Blurr, follow them! They'll lead us to Hot Shot!" Optimus yelled. It was a long shot, and probably suicide, but all Blurr could do was say yes. What other choice did we have?

"What's with the planet?"

"It's all gray and black!"

"Will you two shut up?" I growled at Carlos and Billy as we zoomed toward the planet. This really wasn't the time for sight-seeing.

"All right. Deploy me as soon as you're inside the planet's atmosphere!"

Alexis gasped from next to me. Remember what I said about probably suicide? Prime was definitely suicidal if he was even thinking of jumping ship from that height.

"But sir-"

"Just do it!" he yelled, tearing from the bridge.

"We can't do that! The fall will damage him!" Hoist protested.

"We do what we're told!" Scavenger argued back.

"Pipe down! I can't concentrate!" Blurr sounded like he was ready to tear the both of them apart. He didn't even turn in our direction as he yelled, "Brace yourselves! We're diving!"

Alexis grabbed onto my wing as I swooped up, the Mini-Cons already grabbing onto parts of the wall. Carlos was closest to us, so he grabbed my other wing. The others scurried over with the Mini-Cons.

"Deploying!" Blurr yelled, slamming his hand down on a button. As soon as he did that, the song stopped abruptly. I prayed to Primus that Optimus's completely idiotic idea didn't get him killed.

"That's enough, Blurr! I'll take it from here!" Prime commanded over the link, and the ship stopped diving, leaving a few sighs of relief.

"Hey, where's Hot Shot?" Carlos asked worriedly after I'd put him down. We were tilted toward the planet's surface, but there were so many black things on it that I couldn't tell what was a transformer and what wasn't.

"Got an image! I'm increasing the size now!" Hoist pumped a fist in the air. There was Hot Shot (whew), Megatron, Demolishor, and...and...

"Isn't Optimus still in the air?" Scavenger asked Blurr.

"Yeah. Who in Primus's name is that?" He looked exactly like Prime, save for the fact that he was completely black, and wasn't taking a side, aiming a weapon at all three of them. "What's with the paint jobs?" Billy muttered.

I turned to Swindle. "Lemme guess. You did that?"

"They were going to die, Starscream." he replied flatly. I must've looked insane because he took a step back. I'd gotten THAT close to losing a chance to have my revenge on Megatron, and I hadn't even known it.

I let out a yelp as Alexis's hand clenched like a vice. "He's landing." she whispered. Turning, I saw the real Optimus transform into his super mode, landing heavily on the ground, but looking okay. Must've been the Mini-Cons again.

"Optimus, sir!" Hot Shot cried out to him, overjoyed.

"Ah, the real Prime has arrived, just in time for me to blow your pathetic head off." I felt ready to howl with laughter as the talking pile of slag had to jump to avoid a shot from the dark Optimus.

"Enough, Megatron! If you want to live, we'll have to work together!"

"Work with you? I'd rather rust to death! I can handle him on my own!"

"Is that why he's still here?" he asked, sliding out of the way as his clone charged at him. That had to feel odd.  
"All right, fine!" the moronic prick growled back reluctantly.

"This I gotta see." Scavenger muttered, chuckling.

It didn't take very much for the dark Prime to go down, probably because Megatron was worried about killing him instead of everyone else. I couldn't help but feel ready to puke as I saw him work together with the mechs on my side.

When the freak was finally destroyed, I felt an eye twitch as Sideways rose out of the smoke, then vanished. Of course a coward like him would hide behind the face of a Prime. Apparently, Blurr thought the same way. He nearly smashed the control panel as he slammed his fist on it. I was suddenly glad that he wasn't at the helm for the moment.

XXXXXX

I'm not gonna say what I told Hot Shot when he came back on the ship, other than the fact that I called him a complete moron for playing the martyr. All he could do was shrug and say with a smile, "It's part of being an Autobot, Starscream." Primus, I was glad I still had him around, even though the predominately red coloring would take a little getting used to. At least he didn't look like Megatron. If anything, he was more of a complete wreck than before!

Sideswipe, on the other hand, tackled him, spewing how he didn't know what he'd do if his bro was gone, making Hot Shot completely embarrassed. Cute in a sickeningly sappy way.

"Kids, I want you to go to bed." Optimus ordered gently.

"What? Come on!"

"What do you mean?"

"We can't go to bed now!"

He shook his head, holding out a hand to stop the protests we flung at him. "You need to rest up. We'll be spending the entire time traveling toward Cybertron, so there won't be much excitement there."

"But what about Jetfire?" Fred asked worriedly.

"He let you know himself when you wake up." Scavenger replied.

"Starscream?" Currently I was seething. I was an Autobot! I needed to know what we were planning to do!

"Yes?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice steady.

"You'll stay here with the others. Hot Shot and I need to debrief all of you."

I let my pissed-off mood slide away. "Yes, sir!"

"We'll start the meeting in a half hour. Be sure to return then. That goes for all of you men."

"Return from wher-oh." I'd forgotten that Alexis was still holding my hand. She finally dropped it, blushing.

"Lucky." Billy muttered as he passed by us.

XXXXXX

"Thanks for saving me back there. I really owe you again, don't I?" Alexis asked as I walked with her back to her room, our Mini-Cons trailing after us.

"That was Hot Shot that time." I reminded her.

She gave me a look. "I was scared out of my mind back there. He wouldn't've found me in time." Alexis then walked a little ahead of me, stopped, and turned back. "How do you never lose it?"

I shook my head. "Of course I lose it. We all do."

She shivered, knowing exactly what I was getting at, and it wasn't about freezing up in battle.

I shrugged, breaking the tension. "Look, I've heard this before: nobody's perfect."

"Yeah, but...but..." She bit her lip, then turned around to keep going.

"But what?" I asked, catching up to her.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, thanks again for saving me, even after our fight." We'd stopped at her door. Alexis opened it, and motioned Sureshock in ahead of her, then she rested her back against the door frame, looking up at me. To tell you the truth, she looked pretty scared, but that was gone in a flash. I kissed her cheek. "'Night, Alexis."

I wasn't going to ask her what the problem was now. Why not? Because there were plenty of things I hadn't told her in past, even when she'd asked me.


	7. Chapter 7

Well, they're finally at Cybertron. Someone asked me why Starscream and Alexis aren't getting along. It's because I want to depict how they can also function without each other. I don't own Transformers.

"So, anyone have any idea where Sideways is now?" Scavenger asked sarcastically at the debriefing. Yeah, debriefing. There wasn't anything to debrief, since we all basically knew what had happened.

Hot Shot said he only remembered being sucked into the hole on the deck, and the next thing he knew, he was getting the slag beat out of him by the dark Optimus, aka Sideways. Then Megatron and Demolishor popped up, and weren't any help (When are they?) because they were trying to kill the both of them. And then the Mini-Cons butted in and saved their afts, leaving the real Optimus to team everyone together to get rid of the fake one. The story's only easy to follow if you were there to see it.

I rolled my eyes from where I stood on Hot Shot's hand. It was going to be impossible to find Sideways, seeing as he was, oh, I don't know, SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD. "What we do know is that as long as Sideways reamins a ghost, he'll always be able to be one step ahead of us." Optimus mused.

"He can be on Cybertron for all we know." Blurr added as he steered the ship away from the weird-aft planet.

"Gee, I wonder whose side he'll take this time?" Hot Shot muttered bitterly.

That's when Prime's com link went off. "Optimus, I've finished surgery on Jetfire."

He held out a hand before we could all pounce on Red. "How is he?"

"He's still in recharge, but he'll awaken soon. I've successfully removed all of the pieces of the ceiling from his back."

I grinned broadly. Hot Shot, Hoist and Sideswipe pumped their fists in the air (not the fist that was holding me), but a grunt and raised optic ridge from Scavenger made us knock it off. We weren't done here yet.

"However, there is a complication." Red Alert started after a long pause.

I felt the grin fall from my face as I whispered, "Oh slag, here we go."

A sigh came out of the com link. "Jetfire can fly, but there are limits. He won't be able to do it for very long, and it'll be harder for him to move now. He may also be more fatigued. I'm not very sure on the exact levels of these conditions, or how long they will last because there are too many variables. I'm sorry, sir."

"No!" I hissed, feeling Prime's optics on me.

Jetfire and I were in a similar situation now. He was going to have to deal with holding himself back because of not knowing how much energy it would take, along with the fact that others would always be worrying about him.

Still, I wasn't just pissed. I wish I could've been just pissed, but wishing doesn't get you very far. To tell the truth, I felt ready to roll my eyes at Jetfire, and actually felt glad that this did happen to him. Just like I did, he'd played the hero and ended up on the medic's table. That's what had happened to a lot of Autobot mechs. As for the other part, I finally wasn't going to be babied by at least one mech for a while, since he would know what it was to be like this. Turned out I was going to regret feeling glad about that later on.

"Good job Red Alert! I can send one of the others to relieve you for a while if you need a break."

"I appreciate the offer, Optimus, but no thank you. I'd rather stay here and take care of him." Show-off.

"All right. Just be sure to inform me when Jetfire wakes up."

Everyone looked like a giant weight had been lifted off them as Prime closed out the connection.

"Get some rest, men. We'll plan when Jetfire returns."

XXXXXX

"What the hell is this place?" I muttered under my breath as I pulled out my wingsword. I was walking through some deserted alley that seemed to stretch on forever, weird echoes hammering toward me in the distance, the buildings on each side towering so high that I couldn't see the skyline. I wasn't going to bother looking for it anyway. So, not only did I not know where I was, but everything I looked at was a dark red color, like when I was really pissed.

"Swindle?" I called. Great, no answer.

What sucked even more was I was in my puny little human form, and- "Frag!" I growled, lifting my foot out of some dark puddle I'd stepped in. I'd been too busy looking around me (and over my shoulder) to notice it. Turned out it had its own stream, trailing out from behind the corner of a building. Actually, it looked like something (or someone) that had been dripping it had been dragged around it. Which made me have to bend down and sniff it, gross as it sounded. Couldn't forget the coppery smell. It was blood. Oh, joy.

"Better not be you, Alexis." I hissed as I crept around the side to look.

I thanked Primus. It was too dark to make out exactly whose body it was, but the outline was too tall to be hers. Plus, the hair was too long...Wait a minute. I felt a knot in my stomach as I dragged the body out for a better look (Well, what else was I going to do?), and felt that knot turn to bile as I stared into a bloodshot orange eye, my sword clattering to the ground. It was MY body.

XXXXXX

"Starscream! Hey, wake up!" I jerked my hand up, pushing Swindle's off of me.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly.

My hair fell in front of my face, making me blind. I didn't say a word.

"Screamer?"

It was all I could do to not curl into a ball and cry like a sparkling. That dream had seemed so real...

His hand brushed my hair away, his face right in front of mine. "What's wrong? I thought you were done having those dreams."

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't say a word. That just made him even more worried. What could I say? "Oh, it's nothing, Swindle. I just saw my own dead body." Give me a slagging break!

Finally, I pulled myself together, arching my back. "It's nothing. I was just overtired, that's all."

He shook his head as he handed me the rubber band that had popped out of my hair. "You expect me to buy that?"

"If you woke me up for a strategy meeting, yes." I muttered as I jumped up from the bed.

"Actually, it was because you looked and sounded like you'd just come out of the Pit." Swindle replied pointedly, looking pissed, but I knew he was worried. I was just trying to brush it off, even though I knew it wasn't working. Especially since I felt like I'd just gotten out of the shower. My normal clothes were soaked through with sweat.

"Imagine all of that combined with the fact that you were convulsing in your sleep."

I shrugged. "Guess I'd better clean myself up."

His optic ridge twitched. "Why won't you tell me? I was scared as hell for you."

"I've done dumber things."

"Yeah, but you didn't do this. It happened to you." Swindle replied in a mournful tone, his entire body shaking with fear for me. I'd never seen him this freaked out.

It was all I could do to turn my back on him.

XXXXXX

Luckily, Jetfire woke up not too long afterward, breaking the tension between Swindle and me for a little while.

I wouldn't say that Jetfire was mad, but I would say that he'd seen better days. As happy as he was to see all of us, he got annoyed fast by the others treating him like an invalid.

I smirked as my Mini-Con and I climbed onto his hand. "Welcome to my world, pal."

"Gee, thanks." he replied sarcastically. Yes, I did say something nice to him beforehand. I'm not that rude.

Prime started the meeting soon after, since the kids were still asleep. I was glad I didn't have that luxury for the time being.

We decided to take an indirect route to Cybertron, since going straight to it would be instant suicide. Scavenger suggested landing in the old junkyard where Decepticons used to dump Autobot slaves' bodies back in the early years of the war. Needless to say, I was a little shocked. "You have a base under THERE?!" I exclaimed.

"That's exactly why we picked it." Jetfire said with a dry laugh.

I rolled my eyes. Why didn't I climb on Red Alert's hand? He was so tired, he was barely saying anything.

"I'll send a message ahead. Won't be too long, now, sir." came Blurr's bitter voice.

"Okay, meeting adjourned."

XXXXXX

"Starscream?" I glanced up to see a reflection of Alexis's eyes in the window from where she stood behind me. I'd gone off on my own with Swindle, who was giving me the silent treatment, but was still hovering around like a parent. Much as I hated being babied, a small part of me was thankful for that, along with the fact that he didn't tell anyone what had happened earlier.

"What is it?" I asked more roughly than I'd intended to.

"You look tense, that's all. Sorry I bothered you." she murmured, turning to walk away from me. I grabbed her hand. "Don't worry about it. My own fault." I replied without looking at her directly.

I'd been standing over there to get a look at Cybertron, or at least what was left of it. Even though the home I knew was long gone, it was still my planet.

"Listen, if this is about last night, I, well, I just didn't want to talk about it, that's all." she muttered in a put-off tone.

I shook my head, glancing up at her. "It's not about you, Alexis."

"Well, what is it?"

I felt Swindle's optics on me. If I wouldn't tell him, there was no way I was going to tell her. "Nothing. Just drop it."

I caught her wrist in midair before her hand hit my face. This time I looked her straight in the eye, my grip clenching around it like a vice, glaring down at her. "Don't even think about it." Then, I let go. She rubbed her hand, chewing on her lip as I commented, "This isn't like you."

She shrugged her shoulders, still looking down at it. "No."

Worry started to get to me. She'd been acting odd ever since we drove to the base. If something like this happened on Cybertron, she more than likely get hurt, something I'd never forgive myself for. "Alexis-"

"Sir, we're here."

We similtaneously glanced out the window, and I growled bitterly, "Welcome, Alexis Wilson, to the glorious world of Cybertron."


	8. Chapter 8

Another long chapter. It was fun writing how the Autobots that remained on Cybertron looked compared to the ones that went to Earth as a sort of mirroring technique. Starscream's reaction to seeing Cybertron again was inspired by a chapter of All Quiet On the Western Front when Paul Baumer returns home on leave. I don't own Transformers or All Quiet On the Western Front.

It was worse than before. Then again, what was I expecting? Last time I checked, buildings didn't spontaneously rebuild themselves, and craters didn't suddenly fill themselves in. Now only a quarter of Cybertron's surface was lit from the side we were looking at. When I was created, it'd been a third. This was where I was going to find my answers, even if I had to dig through slag pile after slag pile to find them. I can't even find words to say how bad it was. I don't want to.

But when I stared out at that window, I didn't feel anything. I didn't cry, I didn't scream, and I didn't clench my fist. I just stared like it was the only thing I knew how to do.

I felt Alexis's hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

I gently picked it off of me. What was I doing here? It wasn't worth sitting around to look at something that would never come back, even if it was rebuilt. "Don't be. It doesn't matter." My voice sounded brittle as glass. Turning on my heel, I walked away, feeling her and Swindle watch me go. I never shed a tear, but I could bet at least one of them did.

XXXXXX

The bridge was buzzing with activity as we tried to get our course right. The junkyard was one of the war's "cold spots," directly on the opposite side of the planet from the battlefields, so there wasn't much to worry about. Still, we didn't want to get caught and blow everything.

We were doing fine up until Hot Shot called excitedly, "Optimus, sir, you might want to hear this!"

Prime picked up the transmission Hot Shot fed to him, and could barely contain himself. I swear, I thought he was going to lose it and act like an overjoyed sparkling. "Men, we have reestablished contact with our fellow Autobots!"

I let out a sigh and leaned back against the wall as the others lost their minds, including the kids and Mini-Cons.

Swindle materialized next to me. "Things are going to get REALLY hard now, huh?"

I nodded. "Glad you're talking to me again." I was being sincere. I was gonna need somebody to stick on my side while I ran the gauntlet, and Swindle was my first choice.

The thing that really sucked was that I had been handpicked as Megatron's second-in-command, and EVERYONE knew. Last time I checked, defecting from faction to faction was never taken well. Add that to the fact that I might have had a few 'Bots wanting to stick a knife (or anything else, take your pick) in my back, I was screwed. The glory of the Autobots. Woo. Freaking. Hoo.

XXXXXX

Turned out it was Ultra Magnus that Optimus had been talking to (Oh,joy). He ok'd our landing, saying that Megatron hadn't shown up yet. At least we had that one-up.

I cracked my knuckles as we descended, acting like what humans call a wallflower.

"Nervous?" Swindle asked.

"You know me better than that." Crack.

"Pissed?"

"Close." Crack.

"Wanting to kick aft?"

"Bingo." Sharp crack.

Hopefully, Prime and Magnus wouldn't be too stupid not to see an opportunity right in front of their faces. We had reinforcements now, and the Decepticons had none. We also had the element of surprise. I was wondering how much distance the underground tunnels covered, since they must have had a network surface holes to broadcast a transmission from below. And we had weap-I stopped myself. I couldn't think like that. No damn way could I. Guess I wasn't quite done being a Decepticon yet.

XXXXXX

Getting underground actually gave me a little chill at first as I thought of what we were going through. I realized that something was off as I watched through the window again. The ground that we were going toward had scrap metal lying on it, but it didn't look weathered enough. These prisoners were killed a little time after Megatron's regime began. Most of them were Autobots, but some were also neutral parties that couldn't make up their minds, and of course, some Decepticons that were stupid enough to go against him. You'd think after tens of thousands of years their bodies would be lucky to have any parts left over, right? The stuff we were over actually still had some stuff in one piece.

"Um, are they...Dead transformers?" Fred sounded ready to cry his eyes out.

"No. They're extra parts we placed there as decoys." Red just didn't have it in him to go on to say that there once were real dead transformers there. Couldn't blame him.

The pieces slowly began to move away from each other as the ground split vertically in half, each of the two parts of land pulling away in opposite directions to reveal a gaping balck hole, big enough for two Axalons to fit into.

While the kids watched with their mouths hanging open, we went in. Okay, it was a little interesting, but not that much to sit there and stare at.

The darkness on the way down seemed to stretch on forever. I wouldn't say it was claustrophobic, but I did feel the air around us tense a little. No one said anything, since they were either too excited or intent on not screwing up.

After what I'd say was fifteen minutes later, streaks of light appeared on the walls, connecting to each other in different patterns. Power cables and computer parts. I felt myself relax a little bit. At least it felt better than flying aimlessly through the darkness.

Prime gently broke the silence. "Blurr, initiate landing sequence."

"Yes, sir."

The lights grew brighter until we saw the thick steel walls they were built into. Glancing down, I saw the slowly growing specks of Autobot figures.

"Oh, slagging great." I muttered to myself, feeling the beginning of a small headache starting to build in the back of my head at the prospect of putting on a fake smile for "my fellow comrades." Ugh. I think I'd actually had been told to kill a few of the mechs down there in the past. Should've finished the job when I had the chance.

XXXXXX

I hung back as most of the others got off. No way was I going to even think of drawing attention to myself. Swindle had the same idea. Even if he walked out alone, there would still be questions about him, and since Prime couldn't tell a good lie to save his life, we'd both have to suffer a lot more than if we'd just blended in.

"Starscream, you coming?"

I looked over. Rad was standing near the ship's exit.

I waved my hand. "Give me a minute."

He frowned. "Come on, it's not gonna be that bad."

I let out a bitter laugh, then followed him out. He had no slagging idea. I couldn't help but wonder how Autobots that had never even been on the Earth's surface would take to seeing odd creatures known as humans.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging sharply into my palms as I saw the welcoming committee. We didn't need space suits down here because of the oxygen supply, making it easy for my nails to cut my skin. I felt the hairs on the back of neck stand up, and cold sweat slid down my back.

Naturally, EVERYONE was there, cheering their heads off.

Ultra Magnus, looking haggard and twice his age, stood in front, a tired smile on his face as he extended his hand to an eager Optimus.

Scavenger smacked fists with Ironhide, who now had a nasty pair of scars trailing diagonally from the right to left of his face, Chromia not standing too far off, keeping her gaze in the opposite direction of where Prime was standing for some reason. All of the humans backed up a step or to when they saw how imposing he was. I heard Carlos whisper something in a different language.

Red gave a stern nod to Ratchet, who now had a new left hand, then the two of them broke into warm smiles.

Jazz was currently manhandling Sideswipe. I wasn't in the mood to laugh, funny as it looked. Jazz looked like he had taken a couple of bad hits, judging from the dents on him.

Bumblebee, the tips of his horns having long cracked off, gave Hot Shot a playful shove.

Jetfire was flirting with Arcee, who looked like she needed a fresh coat of paint and something to buff out those scratches. Most mechs wouldn't have even tried if they'd seen her that way, but we're talking about poor ol' Jetfire who'd suffered from femme withdrawl and metal embedded into his back. Might as well give him a break.

To round it off, Blurr was talking with- My fist unclenched for a moment as I did a quick recap of my dreams. Prowl. How was I gonna find out anything from someone I didn't even like, let alone that fact that he looked pretty cranky from some pretty ugly war wounds.

I rolled my eyes, surpressing the urge to laugh as I did a quick sweep of all of this together. The Autobots that went to Earth looked like they'd just got in for a full cleaning and customization compared to these poor slaggers. It was so pitiful to look at, it was funny. I felt ready to puke as I thought that because of how low it sounded. I shook my head to clear that thought out.

"What's the matter?" Swindle asked.

"Trust me when I say you definitely don't wanna know."

And that's when the spotlight got thrown on us. Yay.

"Sir? What are those things?"

I'd heard before that Bluestreak could never shut up, and right then I wanted to fly up, tear out his vocalizer, and set it on fire.

Magnus and the others followed his finger down to us as one. Then, we got a chaotic scene of the typical "What are these things?" and "What were you thinking?" blah-blah-blah. Underneath them, Fred looked scared, Billy looked pissed, Carlos blinked, Alexis folded her arms, Rad shrugged, and I seethed. Not very positive reactions there. This was going soooo well.

Prime knelt to the floor, holding out his hand, and motioned for one of us to climb up on it. Rad took one for the team, Highwire following after him. "This is Rad. He's a human, a native creature of the planet Earth. He and his friends," he swept over us with his other hand, "Have helped us to rescue Mini-Cons time and time again. Their wisdom, force of will, strength, and compassion are the reason we've brought them here with us."

"With all due respect, sir, they'll only hold us down! We can't worry about protecting these creatures along with the Mini-Cons!" If I was my normal size, I would have cranked Cliffjumper.

"Hey! They've been helping us all this time! You can't just throw them out!" Hot Shot yelled, Sideswipe having to hold him back.

I wouldn't say it was tense. More like it was divided. Half of the 'Bots, including Jazz and Ratchet, were giving us curious looks, and even a smile here or there, interested in us. I was standing back in the shadows, hiding my wings. Shouldn't've left the choker on the ship. The other half, including Ironhide and Prowl (just great) were shaking their heads, not seeing much use in us.

"Stand down, Hot Shot!" Optimus ordered.

"Sir, I know that you consider these organisms an important asset. Perhaps they are, but the way our current resources are, the only logical thing to do is to provide for only those that we know for sure are valuable for the war effort, that being ourselves and Mini-Cons."

That was it! I'd had enough! Without having the vaguest idea what I was doing, I swooped up into the air, screaming at the top of my lungs, "IS THIS PROOF ENOUGH FOR YOU?!"

"Starscream, enough!" Prime ordered too late.

I was suddenly clamped roughly by a pair of hands as yells broke out all around us. One I heard above the rest was, "Take him to the holding area! IMMEDIATELY!"

And all I could say was, "Well, this has been a helluva day."


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter will be told by Alexis, and later ones will be told by her as well. From now on, plot will alternate between her and Starscream's POV's. The reason why I am doing is because I want each of their characteristics to develop without constantly having to rely on interaction with one another. Whenever a chapter is told by Alexis, you will see -Alexis's POV-, such as the one directly below. However, if a chapter does not have this heading, it is being told by Starscream. The reason for this is because the entire story of The Choices We Make and the last eight chapters have been told by Starscream by default, and I see it as pointless to start writing -Starscream's POV- this well into the story. I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-  
I felt ready to bawl my eyes out. No way could they just take Starscream away from us!Yeah, he'd been a Decepticon once, but that didn't mean that he should be locked up until who knew when! He almost died to protect his Mini-Con and us. Who knows what would've happened if the Decepticons would've gotten the Star Saber AND the Skyboom Shield? I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to remember where the ground was as these thoughts spun around in my head.

Everything just seemed so wrong. Optimus and the others had accepted us when we'd met them, and he'd told us himself that he'd seen the makings of a true Autobot in each of us. I wasn't being egotistical, but it didn't seem fair at all that we were going to be kicked out, just like that! Optimus, Hot Shot, Red Alert, Sideswipe, Scavenger, Blurr...They were like family to us. I felt bad for these Autobots, but they couldn't push us away just like that! They just couldn't!

Starscream's yelling and the protests of my friends pounded in my ears for a moment. Poor Swindle sounded like an old blast-an-alien video game as he flipped out over losing his closest friend. I just wanted it all to stop.

"Optimus!" I yelled, but he couldn't hear me. Too many voices were fighting at once, drowning me out. I couldn't look up at Starscream again.

I felt someone grab my shoulder, and realized that I had almost fallen over. Looking to the side, I saw Sureshock. "Thanks." I whispered, still feeling out of it. I kept my head down, feeling completely helpless. I knew that wasn't the first time that I had felt this way, but it still hurt. Still, I didn't know what hurt worse, losing my mom or losing the guy I'd brought back to life.

I wanted to do something so bad, but I couldn't move. I'd frozen again. I hadn't wanted to tell Starscream because I knew that he wouldn't let me deal with things on my own. What could I do in this situation anyway? Yelling would only make it worse, but I was too mad to stop my friends.

Sureshock stayed by me the whole time, comforting me. I would've smiled if I hadn't felt so strange. Still, nothing would compare to what happened later.

XXXXXX

"What?!" I gasped, feeling sweat streak down my back as Optimus cut his connection with us and vanished off the screen. Sideswipe's trembling finger stroked my hair, trying to calm me down.

After what seemed like forever, the fight had stopped. Optimus, Jetfire, and Red Alert had to go to a meeting with Ultra Magnus and his second and third to negotiate what to do about Starscream and us. I didn't see Optimus's face after the fight, but from his tone of voice, he was shocked. We all were. Had things really gotten this bad? Starscream had been taken and held to stand for himself before them at a court marshal, which hadn't gone on yet. Swindle had brought to stay with him after Optimsu told them about Swindle being Starscream's Mini-Con.

What had happened before we arrived was this: A nasty battle had wiped out half of the Autobots on Cybertron. Some psychopathic Decepticon had set off a detonator right beneath the battlefield, pulling the poor things down into a ditch, leaving them sitting ducks for open fire, leaving those left over to debate whether to trust anyone else.

I heard Hot Shot heaving breaths between his teeth, his fists clenched while Fred cried beside me, Billy patting him softly on the back, a dazed expression on his face.

"Cowards!" Blurr yelled suddenly, threatening to rattle the ship.

"Let it go! There's nothing we can do now!" Scavenger hissed.

I walked slowly over to Rad. He was leaning against a wall with Highwire, looking down at his feet. Carlos was standing with him, his face blank as a piece of paper. Grindor was with him.

I let out a sigh, and they looked up. "Guess we can tell now why we're not wanted here, huh?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"Yeah. I can see why they're so against trusting some random newbies, but we can't just float on home!" Carlos whispered back, scowling, his fist clenching.

I looked down. "And Starscream..." I let my voice trail off.

After a moment of silence, Rad tried to help me. "It's all up to him now, Alexis. He's been through worse."

"But what if we could do something?" I grumbled, then my eyes widened. Something had just clicked in my mind. I raised my head as Carlos and Rad started talking to each other.

"Hey, guys?" I asked, my voice quivering a little.

They broke off to look at me. "What's wrong?"

"Did either of you notice me on the deck, when the black hole came?" Rad had gotten to be less protective of me since I chose Starscream over him, and Carlos usually let me do my own thing. I could trust them with this.

Carlos shook his head, but Rad nodded. "You had me worried there. I was glad Starscream got you."

I turned red, then waved my hand in a moving-on gesture. "My point is, I froze. And then I just froze again right after he was grabbed."

"What do you mean? You were yelling with us." Rad raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head. "I only yelled once."

Carlos shrugged. "Well, there wasn't much we could do, right?"

"True, but when I realized that they were really going to lock him up, I felt so helpless. That was what happened when I couldn't find him when the black hole appeared."

Rad gave me a sympathetic look, while Carlos shook his head in disbelief. "So what you're saying is..."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Whenever Starscream is in trouble, I freeze up. What am I gonna do?"


	10. Chapter 10

It was interesting to write this chapter because I wasn't sure how trials were conducted in Armada, so I made it up as I went along. Parts of the trial itself were inspired by the trial held for Summoner Yuna in Final Fantasy X. Oh and uh, Starscream kinda snaps at the end of this chapter. I don't own Transformers or Final Fantasy X.

I paced back and forth in my cage, trying not to slam my fists against the bars. A cell had been too big, so they tossed me in here. Swindle had known better than to try to calm me down. He watched my tirade, waiting for my anger to burn itself out. I couldn't believe this! I was facing a court martial in less than an hour for doing NOTHING wrong. I wasn't technically an Autobot when I'd taken the shield, so they couldn't get me for that. I stopped to spit on the floor. Naturally, they'd find something to pin me with. After all I had been the second-in-command of the Decepticons, and these Autobots needed someone to take everything out on. I leaned against the bars, looking over at Swindle, his pissed-off expression mirroring mine.

I let out a dry laugh. "The glory of war, eh? Power-hungry savages beat up on poor bastards that are trying to SOMEHOW survive. And when those same savages can't find an enemy to fight, they cannabalize each other."

"Sounds like a wonderful life." he replied sarcastically.

The cage made a clanging noise as my fist struck it. I was suprised that I wasn't getting bloody knuckles by then. My wingsword had been "confinscated" by Prowl as a "safety precaution." Against what? A pricked finger? Give me a break. I slid down to sit on the floor, looking out toward the gloomy darkness of the holding area's high, grimy wall behind the bars on the other side. I let out a sigh, leaning my head back against the cold bars. My anger was spent, but everything kept playing in my head at once, making it throb. Swindle finally came over to me, and sat down beside me. "So, what're we going to do?" he asked.

I waved my hand. "I don't really care. It's a military trial, so it's bound to be rigged."

"But what about Optimus, Jetfire, and Red Alert? Can't they help you?"

"They're in the minority, Swindle. I doubt that Prime deciding to let a 'Con off the hook will blow over well with the idiots here."

His head did a 360. "But you're not one of them anymore! For Primus's sake, you're not even a transformer!" At my look, he quickly added, "No offense."

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. All they see is an opportunity to take revenge for what has happened. It's the same anywhere you go. Wouldn't you want to take revenge on Leader-One?"

He hesitated. "Kill him? No. We don't want to kill each other."

I raised an eyebrow. "You really think he's got the same opinion as you?"

Without missing a beat, he nodded. "I know he does." I felt myself shiver. His statement had sounded like a well-known fact. I told myself for the umpteenth time that I'd never completely understand Mini-Cons.

After a few moments of silence, he changed the subject. "You think Optimus will be able to protect the humans?"

I threw my hands up. "How am I supposed to know?!"

"Okay, sorry." he muttered.

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, it's like this: on one hand, we have the Autobots' promise to protect all life, bring freedom for all sentient beings, blah, blah, blah, but on the other, we have them struggling to live on their limited resources. As far as the humans go, it's up in the air." It wrenched at me to say that. I couldn't let them do this to any of them, not to Alexis...But what could I do while I was caged up like an animal? I remembered Alexis trying not to look at me as I was carried away. Unless I won this case, I'd be failing her yet again.

XXXXXX

After the insanely long hour dragged by, I heard footsteps in the distance. "Here we go." I muttered under my breath, motioning Swindle over. I didn't want him to get stuck in here on his own.

It was hard to make out much of anything, but I was able to tell the mech was part white, since the color glowed in the dark. I tilted my head up. Prowl. Should've known. "Are you ready?" he asked. I let out a snort, but didn't say anything. I needed to not say anything stupid around him, as he was pissed at me already. If I kept it up, he wasn't going to answer any of my questions. Escape was definitely out of the question. I was just a (very annoying) fly in comparison to his size. Instead, I climbed onto his hand with Swindle, his fingers forming a cage around us. Was I supposed to be intimidated? I really wasn't.

It felt like forever as he took us through room after room of darkness, the quiet around us seeming to press in on Swindle and me. I didn't even try to remember which rooms we went into because they all looked alike. Finally, we broke out into a gray-lit hallway. Voices echoed from all around us. I could tell we were getting close to the courtroom.

It was now or never. I took a breath. "Prowl, can I ask you something?" I got ignored, and tried again. The fourth time I asked, he finally caved. "What is it?"

"Did you ever have an apprentice named Aura?"

"What?" he asked sharply, his fingers clamping tighter together above us. "Why do you want to know that, Decepticon?" I felt anger flare up in me, and Swindle gave me a warning look. I got a hold of myself. "I'm an Autobot like you are." I was seriously restraining myself here, praying to Primus that it would be worth my while.

"Your past tells us otherwise. Why should we trust the second-in-command of Megatron himself that has suddenly defected to our side, as well as switched his species? It goes against all logic." I could see why Blackflare didn't like this mech very much. "That's what you think. Look, can you just answer me?"

"You haven't told me why you wanted to know."

I gritted my teeth in frustration as we took a turn. What could I tell him? That I'd seen her in a dream sequence after having my head split apart? Yeah, that would go over well. "I think I heard Prime mention her one time. I just got curious."

He gave me a disbelieving look. "I don't think it is any of your business."

I muttered a couple of cuss words under my breath as we entered the courtroom. Great, another dead end.

XXXXXX

I actually let a chill go down my back as I stood, Swindle next to me, suspended by a floating orb looking a lot like the one Megatron had kept Alexis and the others in a while back. My fists clenched as I wondered if this one would shock us if we got to be too much of a nuisance. The orb was in the middle of a square room. The wall on the north side had a podium built into it, where Optimus stood, his optics watching my every movement with concern. The south side also had a podium. Ultra Magnus stood at this one, currently giving me a look that dared to say or do something stupid. I felt so honored. The west wall housed Jetfire and Red Alert standing at a large podium, Jetfire closest to Prime. Jetfire flashed me a reassuring glance while Red Alert gave me a small smile. The last wall held Ironhide and Prowl (whoop-de-doo), Ironhide standing the closest to Ultra Magnus. Ironhide was glaring openly at me, and Prowl had his arms folded with a cold look on his face. Of course, EVERYONE had to be looking at me. I felt like a freak on display. Sickly white lights beat down on me from the vaulted ceiling of the gray room, as if casting a spotlight on me.

Swindle comfortingly put his hand on my shoulder. "Relax, Screamer. It's an Autobot trial, so it's not rigged, is it?"

"You'd be surprised." I mumbled. Then again, most of the time Decepticon "trials" had been shoot first, and ask later. I was really hoping that the Autobots wouldn't sink that low.

As if I'd given a cue, it started. "Starscream, you're charged with insubordination and treason. Should you win this case, these charges will be cleared. However, if you lose, your punishment will be debated upon." Ultra Magnus droned out. "Debated upon" my aft! Like I said before, I knew these 'Bots wanted to take their anger out on someone. If I lost, my punishment would undoubtedly suck at best. I raised an eyebrow as I got up. The orb I was in was floating above him, giving me a little feeling of dominance. "What about the humans?" I growled. I felt a vein in my throat throb as I heard Ironhide say to Prowl, "I'm suprised he cares about 'em."

"It's all right, Starscream. I'll deal with it." came Optimus's reassuring voice.

Magnus's astonished look nearly made me laugh. Finally, he got a hold of himself, and nodded. "What your leader is saying is correct. This matter only concerns you."

"It concerns me, too." Swindle spoke up.

I nudged him and said out of the corner of my mouth, "They can't understand what you're saying."

"Oh yeah, forgot."

The sound of Magnus clearing his throat brought my attention back. "We shall begin with the first charge. You had given the coordinates to your leader, Optimus Prime, to free the Mini-Cons from the Decepticons' base known as the Moon. While there, you deliberately disobeyed a direct order to stand down and help with the mission."

I rolled my eyes. "Do we have to bring this up? I wasn't an Autobot then."

"Technically, you were." Prowl chimed in.

"Uh, no, I don't think so. I wasn't wearing the insignias then. Look, I only went with them to take down Megatron." Well, at least it was honest. I wasn't going to get nailed for something that didn't count.

"You're missing the point, Starscream." Magnus corrected me.

I was starting to get really pissed off. "What point?"

"You asked for shelter from Optimus's men, and proceeded to live with them."

"So? That still didn't make me one! I was an outcast, get it?"

Magnus folded his arms. "Do you want to be the sole defender of your safety? You seem to be answering all the questions on your own."

I smirked, and sat back down. I was proud, but I wasn't stupid. "Nah, I'll take a break."

That was when Optimus piped up. "What Starscream is saying has truth to it. He didn't think of himself as an Autobot then." I jumped up, spinning to look at him. That wasn't much of a defense!

"But?" Magnus asked. He was really grating on my nerves.

"I gave him a choice to return from the Moon base with us, or remain. He chose to come." I gnashed my teeth. Some help he was being! I was starting to get the feeling that this really was rigged.

Swindle gave me a nudge as Magnus, Ironhide, and Prowl discussed this. "Relax. Looks like Jetfire's getting ready to say something." I looked down at my side, where I saw Jetfire nod while in a quiet conversation with Red. Optimus had them break it up when Magnus had finished with his side.

"We have also heard that you helped to save a Mini-Con on Mars, Starscream."

I spun in the opposite direction, pointing my index finger at the annoying-as-hell mech, about to lie my aft off. "Look, I did that to get out of Jetfire arresting me."

"Jetfire, is this true?" Okay, Magnus was just making fun of me now, since knowing Optimus, he'd probably had Jetfire and Red leak their circuits dry.

He nodded. "It is, sir."

"Which brings us back to the insubordination charge."

My fingernails were threatening to tear my palms' scabs open. "I told you, none of this counts!"

"If ya weren't an Autobot, then why did Optimus keep ya around?" Ironhide drawled. I felt compelled to drown him in an acid bath.

"Yes, that is a good question. Optimus?"

"I saw potential in him." I couldn't believe what I was hearing! It was like he was trying to have me found guilty! I searched Jetfire and Red Alert for some help, but they didn't look ready to give any. Of course, they were on Prime's side. They always were. "

And then there is the treason charge. Can you fathom what could have happened if Megatron had gotten hold of the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield?"

I felt Swindle hold me back as I roared, "HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME!!!" I knew what would have happened, but when I took them, I'd thought I was going to give them straight to Thrust. Stupid, I know, but I wasn't in the mood to get a chew-out from a mech that hadn't even seen Earth.

"Wait, he didn't go through with it." Finally, Red Alert had said something. Took him long enough.

"That's true, but did he attempt it?"

"Shut up, Prowl." I growled, still feeling Swindle holding me.

I heard Prime let out a sigh. "Yes."

"And finally, we have the stack of insubordination charges that cannot be dismissed, for they were committed when you were officially an Autobot." It was like pulling nails. I was powerless against these, while my "defense" proved each one true. I was wallowing in anger and betrayal. How could they do this to me? Every charge had been proven! Added to that was the fact that the penalty for treason was sometimes death. Sometimes was going to be a definite for me. I could just tell. I barely felt Swindle's hand on my shoulder. This was a massacre. Still, I never sat again, cried, or hid my face. I was too proud.

Finally, the verdict was determined. "Starscream, you all guilty of all charges. Your punishment will be determined in a few days. Optimus and his men have full jurisdiction over you until then." Guess it was going to take a few days to determine the right way to kill me. I watched Magnus, Ironhide, and Prowl leave without a backward glance at me, then the orb slowly descended to land in Prime's hand.

I glared up at him. "Thanks for nothing."

He suddenly looked very old as he said, "I was only doing what was best for you, Starscream."

I saw Swindle's shocked stare in a sea of red out of the corner of my eye, but didn't really pay attention to it. Whatever had happened from now on, Swindle and I were going to get the hell out of there before my head rolled. And I knew I couldn't trust Alexis now, even though it tore me apart inside. I wanted Primus to damn Prime to the Pit forever for having her on his side. Well, at least I knew that she'd be safe. A little wish had come true for once in my slagging existence.


	11. Chapter 11

Big chapter coming up next! In this one, I wanted to show how even though Starscream dislikes Alexis now, he still cares about her. I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

I wouldn't say I was completely happy when Starscream came back. I was at first when I saw that he was okay, but when I ran to hug him, he stiffened as if he didn't want me to touch him at all at first, and then slowly put his own around me. "What's wrong?" I asked as I let go.

A sigh came from above us, and we looked up at Optimus. "I can't sugarcoat this, kids. Unfortunately, we lost the trial."

"WHAT?!" we yelled as Starscream let out a growling noise, walking away from us, Swindle in tow.

"Are you serious? What'd they get him for?" Carlos asked.

Jetfire groaned. "What didn't they get him for?"

Red Alert emotionlessly sounded them off. "Insubordination and treason." I felt a lump clog my throat. Back home, most people got killed for treason. I was really hoping things weren't the same here.

"But how do some of those charges count? Starscream wasn't really an Autobot for a while."

Red Alert shook his head as a door slammed shut from down the hallway. "He lived with and was cared for by us."

"But that doesn't make every stray we take in an Autobot, now does it?" Blurr asked. Rad flashed me a hopeful smile.

"True, but Starscream asked whether to join." Red Alert replied. Rad's smile fell. Billy whispered a "Huh?"

"Sounds like Magnus wanted to make it seem like he was right at all costs. I should've known as much." Scavenger chimed in.

"But that's not right!" Fred wailed.

"Starscream doesn't deserve this!" Hot Shot added. I didn't even want to think of what "this" was.

"Hot Shot, would you have thought the same way before?" Scavenger asked quietly. Hot Shot lowered his head. "I guess not." Sideswipe looked like he was feeling guilty of the same thing.

"Well, what's gonna happen now?" Rad asked.

Optimus sighed. "We're supposed to hold him here until his final sentence is determined."

"You're gonna let him die?!" I bristled suddenly. This couldn't be happening! Not after all of this!

"Of course not, Alexis."

"Then why did we lose?" I asked, my fists clenched. Nobody around us said a single word.

"You don't understand, Alexis. Ultra Magnus was put in command after we-" He stopped when I stamped my foot, tired of all of this. If being president meant this kind of crap, I seriously was going to have to reconsider my future career plans. I felt Sureshock's hand my shoulder. "Are you okay?" I was currently looking at the floor, not wanting to see anyone's expressions. A moment or two later, I took a deep breath, unclenched my fists, and looked back up at Optimus. It was like looking at my dad after we'd had a bad fight, and we were both wanting to make up after regretting having it in the first place. Finally, I spoke. "I just...I just don't understand. Optimus, you always promised that we all were going to be okay, no matter what. But now, Starscream's pratically sitting on death row. You always told us to not worry about what others thought, but Ultra Magnus got his way just because he was here longer than you. I'm sorry, but that doesn't seem right to me at all."

It finally seemed like the spotlight passed off of me, and went onto him. After what seemed like an eternity, I got my answer. "Alexis, I did it partly for you and your friends."

"What do you mean?" Carlos asked, confused like I was.

"Starscream is now mostly in human form. Keeping him acquited from the charges makes him seem more suspicious, and that would also make the others that look like him suspicious as well."

"So, the other part's to protect him, right?" Jetfire asked, catching on.

He nodded. "Starscream's past position, whether he wanted it or not, makes him what humans call a whipping boy to those that especially hate Decepticons. Not to mention the bad emotions triggered from the things he actually did do."

"But we can't hold a punishment over his head!"

"I know, Hot Shot, but it's the only way I can keep Starscream out of the hands of any Autobots that intend to harm him. I can organize a softer punishment for him easily." Now everything suddenly made sense. Happy as I was that Optimus was doing this for Starscream, one thing just wouldn't fit. Blurr knew what it was. "And how's Starscream gonna feel about hearing this?"

"That's the problem. He won't listen to any of us. We weren't able to talk with him while he was locked up, and we're afraid that he thinks our act is real." Red Alert replied.

"And besides, does anybody here seriously think that he would take hearing this little plan well?" Jetfire muttered, crossing his arms. It was like asking a class for a volunteer at 7:30 a.m. I finally realized why Optimus was so grave when he told us. It must've been torture for him to have to put Starscream through this. We'd made it seem like he, Jetfire, and Red Alert did something wrong by jumping down their throats.

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't tell him." Sideswipe suggested.

"Why doesn't Alexis go? Starscream trusts her the most." I felt myself blush as Rad said that. A moment later, Optimus made his decision. "You may go, but I need to tell you something else first. All of you." "

Well, what is it Sir?" Hot Shot asked eagerly.

"You are on a short leave for now. You may visit your friends and family, but when duty calls, I need you to be ready to go, all right?" Cheers rose up around us. We grinned at our friends, happy that they could go home for a little while after being away for so long. But what about us? "Kids, you can come along, as well. I've arranged with Ultra Magnus to allow you to remain here as long as you didn't get in the way." I couldn't get myself to smile. The guys were having the same problem. Poor Optimus's tone sounded like it had taken him forever to bargain with him. Ugh, why was Ultra Magnus so stubborn?! "Thanks, Optimus. That means a lot to us." Rad said after a moment, cracking a grin. "Don't worry, we won't do anything stupid!" Carlos added. "We'll blend right in with the wall!" Billy joked. "We can still meet some of the Autobots, though, right?" Fred asked hopefully.

"You may, just as long as he or she isn't busy at the moment, and you don't stray too far from any of us." Now it was our turn to cheer. This was going to be so amazing!

After the thrill of the moment died away, I sighed and announced, "I'll be back soon."

XXXXXX

I'd thought Starscream was in his room, but the door was open. I headed further down the hallway, taking a few turns, trying to find one that was closed. Finally, I found one. Opening it, I called out his name. It was a large area of the ship, housing a giant steel cylinder in the middle, kept in place by thick steel girders pressing into it that were suspended high above me. Sitting on one of those girders was Starscream, Swindle next to him.

He and Swindle looked down from where they were sitting, then got up, Swindle grabbing onto his wing as he drifted down. He'd taken off his spacesuit, knowing that he'd be here for a while.  
"What is it?" he asked woodenly while Sureshock started a conversation with Swindle next to us.

I tried to figure out how to put this the best way I could. "Look, Optimus, Jetfire, and Red Alert had you found guilty to help you." His puzzled look showed how good a job I did of that. "Huh?" I explained what the I'd been told earlier, including being able to meet the other Autobots, but he didn't look very convinced. I rubbed my temples. "Look, that's what he told me, okay? You'll be fine."

He shrugged, his face emotionless. "I guess I will."

My hands fell to my sides, clenching into fists. "Why won't you listen to me?"

"I am. I just don't have much to say about it."

"I wasn't born yesterday, Starscream!" He looked over at Swindle and Sureshock, who were still talking in their own language, waving their hands animatedly. Finally, he looked back at me. "Why don't we just drop it? The only thing this is going to do is get you more angry."

I bit my lip, then gave up. "Fine."

"You should probably get going. I doubt I'd want to 'reconnect' with with the mechs and femmes I'd taken a shot at before."

"Okay. We'll be back soon." I replied in a tired voice, feeling his lips on my forehead and hearing him warn me, "Just watch yourself out there. I only trust some of those 'Bots as far as I could throw 'em."

"I hope you don't include Optimus as one of them." I muttered as I left, Sureshock following me out.

As we headed back down the hall, she told me, "Swindle says Optimus is at the top of that list."

"Why'd he tell you?" I asked curiously.

"Because he's worried about what's going to happen to Starscream, and he knew you could keep a secret."

I let out a frustrated growl, feeling a vein throb in my forehead."Why do I like him so much?"


	12. Chapter 12

It was a lot of fun to write this chapter!:) I was able to build relationships between the Armada and G1 characters based on what their G1 counterparts' relationships were (Ex. G1 Hoist was friends with Grapple), and resemblences between characters (Ex. Hot Shot looks like Bumblebee). I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

"How'd it go?" Rad asked when I returned.

I shrugged. "He knows."

"All right, that's everyone. Hot Shot, you take Rad and Alexis with you. Sideswipe, take Carlos. And Hoist, you take Billy and Fred. Again, stay near us, kids. Men, it's time to go home." I couldn't help but notice that Optimus had a weird tone at the end of that. For a moment, he sounded a little sad for some reason. I brushed it off because it didn't make sense in this situation.

The massive size of the base was more pronounced now that there wren't hundreds of Autobots standing around us. The walls seemed to climb to infinity, while hallways among hallways with wires and cables branched off in all directions, lit in a light blue glow. A few Autobots holding weapons stood at some of the hallways. Probably guards. It all looked official and clean, if not a little cold.

"So, where to?" Rad asked Hot Shot and Sideswipe, who looked like he was sticking with us. The more the merrier!

"Well, I wanna go find my uncle, even though that'll be a bit of a challenge." Sideswipe muttered.

"How come?" I asked as Blurr passed by us.

"Jazz, that's his name, tends to roam around a lot. He always told me it was a way for him to loosen up."

"What about your mom and dad?" Carlos asked.

He looked down, and asked in a low voice, "Is it okay if I don't talk about it?"

"Aw, I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean nuthin' by it." Carlos said quickly as Hot Shot put his arm around Sideswipe comfortingly, looking like he'd heard about this before. Rad and I offered our condolences.

I decided to change the subject. "What about you, Hot Shot?"

He let go of Sideswipe. "I was thinking of meeting up with my cousin, Bumblebee. It'll be easier to find him."

"This is gonna be so cool!" Carlos exclaimed as we headed toward an unguarded hallway.

XXXXXX

About a few minutes later, I decided to take Optimus's advice and stick with Hot Shot. The room we were in was bustling with activity, some Autobots were talking together, others were working on computers, and a few extra were doing maintenence.

"Looks like ya got lucky. He's on break." Sideswipe commented as we came to the group of talking mechs and femmes, about three of them falling quiet when the two members of their team came up, staring down at us in their hands, making me feel very uncomfortable. The other three, however, greeted us happily.

We'd figured out who Bumblebee was right away, and not just by color, either. He was the first one to come out of the group and start talking with Hot Shot.

One of the more friendly mechs, a cool-looking fiery colored one, nudged the remaining unfriendly mech, since the other two were beginning to walk off (rude). This unfriendly one was red and rather short compared to the other transformer's I'd seen before. "Give 'em a break, Gears!"

"Nuthin' good's gonna come out of having these things around." he murmured as he walked away.

"Don't worry about him. He just acts that way. Name's Hot Rod." the mech that defended us said, extending a finger. Rad, Carlos, and I were all too happy to shake it.

"Hot Rod, quit hogging all the attention!" a blue transformer with wings shoved him aside. A second look told me they were actually doors that looked like wings.

"Hey, Bluestreak! Sorry I didn't get to talk to you earlier!" Sideswipe called cheerfully, pulling his attention away from us.

"Looks like he's gonna be busy for a while. Bluestreak loves to chatter. Anyway, so who are you?" Hot Rod asked.

"Well, I'm Rad, this is Alexis, and this is Carlos. And these are our Mini-Cons, Highwire, Sureshock, and Grindor." my friend explained, pointing to each of us in turn.

"You each get a Mini-Con? How do you link up?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Well, we can't do that. But, we can do this." Sureshock transformed, and I got on her, feeling myself blush a little. I have to admit, I did feel pretty silly.

"That's different. So who tells where to go?" He sounded genuinely interested, which was great. We were making a new friend.

"It's sort of a partnership when it comes to that. We can understand our Mini-Cons, and they can understand us." Rad replied.

"Just wondering, can any other humans do this?"

"Not that we've heard of, amigo. What's really cool about these three is they can merge into this awesome super Mini-Con called Perceptor, and-"

"Hot Rod! You're going to be late!" Bumblebee called from a distance away. Looking up, I saw the Autobots changing shifts.

"Aw, come on! Sorry, but I gotta go! Nice meeting you!" he called as he ran off.

Rad tipped his head up at Hot Shot. "You related to him, too?"

He groaned. "He's my younger cousin. Bumblebee always has his hands full with him. Thank Primus I don't have to worry about him."

"Hmm, now who does that sound like?" Sideswipe asked jokingly. We all laughed as Hot Shot gave him a look.

XXXXXX

A couple of rooms later, we met up with Hoist, Billy, and Fred. We'd happened to walk (or be carried) into a room where Hoist was speaking with an orange friend of his, while Billy and Fred were drooling over a femme that was working a small distance away. I felt the urge to slap them, but decided against it.

"Hey, Grapple!" Hot Shot called, waving.

The two of them smacked fists. Grapple then looked down at Sideswipe. "Jazz came in a little while ago. Said he was looking for you."

"Where'd he go?"

Grapple shrugged, leaving him to let out an exasperated sigh.

I was starting to wonder why Hoist and Grapple had such strange looks on their faces when Carlos let out a yelp as he flew up into the air. Rad, Billy, Fred (who'd finally quit ogling the poor girl) Hot Shot, and I looked worriedly over, then broke into laughter.

An Autobot who looked very much like Sideswipe had his hands on his shoulders, and was saying, "Gotcha, kiddo!" Luckily, Carlos had landed safely back on Sideswipe's hand.

"Oh, tee-hee, very funny, Jazz." our poor friend muttered embarrassedly.

"What, I can't spend time with my favorite nephew and his friends?" Jazz joked.

"Would it kill you to not sneak up on me?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

Sideswipe just shook his head.

"Well, are ya gonna introduce me, or what?" Jazz asked eagerly, walking around to face us from the front, sweeping to a mock bow. "Autobot Jazz at your service!"

I giggled, happy to meet him. He seemed like a lot of fun to be around.

"Well, this is Hot Shot, my bro. He mentored me when I first joined the group on Earth. I've learned so much from him."

"Pleasure to meet ya, kid. Great work!"

Hot Shot smiled.

"This is Hoist, and this is Grapple. They're long-time friends of Hot Shot." I figured Sideswipe didn't want to complicate things by metioning that Hoist used to be called Smokescreen.

"Good to meet ya two."

"And these are our new human friends, Billy, Fred, Rad, Alexis, and Carlos."

His visor lit up as he looked down at us. "I didn't know when I was finally going to meet ya!" We couldn't help but grin up at him.

As our Mini-Cons were being introduced, Jazz suddenly held out his hand for Sideswipe to stop. "Hang on, I'm getting a message. Sounds pretty important."

A couple seconds later, he muttered under his breath, then let out a sigh. "Sorry, but I gotta go. It's from Ultra Magnus."

"Actually, now that I think of it, I have to leave, as well. Duty calls." Grapple and Jazz waved as they left in seperate directions.

"Ultra Magnus, huh?" Carlos commented.

"Jazz is one of his lieutenants. That's why he does a little more walking around here than some mechs do." Hot Shot explained.

"Seems like everybody's getting pulled to back to work around here." Rad stated.

"Yeah. It just makes the tension around here higher." Sideswipe replied grimly.

"What about you guys? Do you have jobs here, too?" Fred asked.

Hoist rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish as Hot Shot and Sideswipe glanced at him. "Actually, I did. Sideswipe did, too. Hot Shot got drafted straight into Optimus's team, but I was supposed to work here for a while. Of course, we all know how I jumped the gun on that one."

"Slacker!" Billy called in a mocking tone, and a chorus of voices yelled angrily, "Who said that?!"

We blinked a couple of times, and Sideswipe asked, "Uh, bro?"

"Maaaybe we should get going." Hot Shot whispered, and we scurried away as we heard somebody starting to stomp toward us.

XXXXXX

We chose a long hallway with several alcoves that held various types of maintence equipment as our "escape route," actually hiding in one of the alcoves for a little while.

"Way to go, big mouth!" Fred whispered, kicking Billy.

"Shut up!" Carlos hissed.

"Hey, does anybody hear that?" Hoist asked suddenly.

"You're sitting on a grate. It's probably the air." Sideswipe replied.

"I mean, I think I hear a voice from below it. Sounds familiar."

Sounds of moving equipment in the distance made it impossible for Rad, Carlos, or me to hear anything, since Hot Shot and Sideswipe were standing against the opposite wall of the alcove. Hoist put Fred and Billy down to hear it better.

"Huh, sounds like Blurr." Billy said after a minute.

"And he sounds ticked off." Fred added.

A little later, Billy asked, "Hey, does Blurr have a brother?"

Hoist, Hot Shot, and Sideswipe looked at each other. "Not that we know of. Why?"

"Because I just heard him say to somebody called Prowl that he's going to kill him."

Author's Note: In case anybody asks, Jazz did know the names of Hot Shot, Hoist, and Grapple beforehand. He was simply being cordial when Sideswipe introduced them.


	13. Chapter 13

Dissension begins, and darkness looms on the horizon. Uh-oh. I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

Play time was over right after that. Our friends' com links went off, and Sideswipe explained after hearing the message, "Optimus wants us to head back to the ship, stat!"

"Looks like that's our cue!" Hoist called as he picked Billy and Fred back up.

"I guess Scavenger was right when he said, 'No rest for the wicked.'" Hot Shot muttered as he broke into a run. I giggled nervously at that.

XXXXXX

When we got back, everyone save for Blurr, Red Alert, and Scavenger was on the bridge. Even Starscream had come out, but he didn't join us on the bridge.

After Hot Shot set me down, I went over to talk with Starscream. He was currently leaning against the right wall halfway down the hallway, his arms crossed. Swindle stood by him, and they looked like they were wrapping up a conversation.

"Have fun on your little tour?" he asked sarcastically as Swindle joined Sureshock, who was heading over to where the others were.

I rolled my eyes. "Just because you don't like all Autobots doesn't mean you have to spoil everything." I plopped down on the floor. He didn't join me, though I looked up expectantly at him. He didn't look back at me. Instead, he reached back, and drew his wingsword. He held it, point down, in front of his face, the light reflecting sharply off of it. The fire in his eyes made it seem like he was obsessed with it. I felt a little uneasy as I watched him.

A moment later he whispered in a tight voice, creeping me out, "Do you know what they did?"

"No." I whispered, having no idea what he meant, tucking my knees close to my chest. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He was really making me nervous.

Keeping his eyes on his blade, Starscream rasped, "They took this away from me."

I gasped, my eyes widening. "But that's crazy! You're not their size anymore!"

"Do you think they give a damn? All they see is somebody they can let take their anger out on. I'm lucky I got this back." he growled, his knuckles tightening on the blade, making it shake slightly.

I scooted back a little, knowing exactly why he was on the verge of seriously injuring someone. Not only did they take away his weapon, but they also took away his ability to fly.

"Starscream, getting mad about it now isn't gonna help anything." I pleaded.

He finally looked down at me, and I felt the color drain from my face. Starscream was glaring at me as if he hated me. I felt myself shoot up from floor, holding my hands out in front of me. "Wh-what's wrong with you?" I stammered, my voice shaking.

The look faded, replaced by an aloof one. Starscream shrugged, then put his sword away. "Nothing. I'll see you later." He turned on his heel and walked away from me, heading to a far corner of the bridge. I felt a tear slide down my cheek as I watched his ponytail bob back and forth. I was so confused and frustrated. What did I do wrong?

"You okay, Alexis?" Wiping my tear away, I turned to face my human friends and their Mini-Cons, along with my own. Needless to say, the guys looked pretty mad. I sighed, and instead of answering, said, "Let's figure out what Optimus wanted."

XXXXXX

I felt cold, bony fingers were run down my spine as Optimus gravely informed us, "Megatron, or rather, Galvatron, is on our heels. We've received word that he has landed on Cybertron, and his troops are already advancing to Autobot outposts. We are certain, however, that he hasn't located this base yet." I couldn't help but look over my shoulder at Starscream from where he stood in the corner. His arms were folded tightly around his chest, his eyes glinting, and that creepy glare was on his face, though it wasn't dircted at me this time. If he'd been staring at me, I would've turned around already. Swindle dutifully stood by him, and when the Mini-Con noticed me, gave a shrug.

I snapped my head back around, not wanting to look anymore. It was like seeing a Decepticon all over again. I wasn't stupid. I knew he was obsessed, but that look on his face...It felt like my throat was caught in a vice when I did look.

"We can't let him destroy more of our home! Let's go!" Hot Shot yelled.

"We will, Hot Shot. However, we must be careful. Don't forget that it's not just two small squads fighting one another over a Mini-Con."

The way he said that really put things into proportion. At fifteen years old, I was going to see what war really did look like. I felt my palms sweat as I wondered if I was really up to this.

The guys were reacting the same way. Rad's breath caught in his throat, Carlos's eyes stretched wide, Billy started to shake, and Fred put his head in his hands, crying, "I don't want anyone to diiie!"

Contrasting us, the Autobots simply nodded.

I didn't need to look at Starscream to know that he was smirking.

The Mini-Cons beeped at one another in their own language for a few moments, but that was it. No hand gestures, nothing. Maybe it was shock, or acceptance?

Then Optimus looked down at us. "Kids, you'll be staying here. Red Alert will watch you."

"What?!"

"No way!"

"We're not staying!"

"You can't do this!"

"Why can't we come?!"

"ENOUGH!" Scavenger roared, silencing us.

Optimus sighed. "Remember the deal, kids."

"But we came here to help!" Rad yelled.

"Screw the deal!" Carlos chimed in.

I blinked, then asked, "Didn't you just tell us that we're true Autobots, Optimus? Doesn't that mean anything to you anymore?" I was out of line, but it just didn't feel right that this was happening.

"Knock it off!" Jetfire yelled. He didn't sound mad at us, just surprised that we were acting this way. I couldn't help but notice how vulnerable he looked now. He was purposely angling his body so that his back faced the wall, hiding where it had been welded. I had the strongest feeling that he felt ashamed of his appearance, and couldn't help but wonder if that was also why he wore a mask.

It suddenly felt like a spotlight had been cast upon us. Scavenger looked us over with disdain, a deep frown on his face. Blurr didn't say a word, but the look he gave was reprimanding enough. Hot Shot and Sideswipe, both with sympathetic expressions on their faces, were trying to calm us down. Red Alet was shaking his head. Jetfire retained his incredulous look. Optimus seemed sad from where he stood. I felt bad that I helped made them feel this way, but it just wasn't right that we couldn't help.

"What? Is it because they're human? You've got to be kidding me! Are you Ultra Magnus?" Starscream yelled defiantly, making me jump, and throwing Swindle into a beeping frenzy.

Optimus's optics narrowed as the transformers and we humans began to yell altogether.

I felt ready to take Starscream by the shoulders and shake him as hard as I could. He was being so hard-headed that he was losing control of himself.

Optimus held his hand up for silence, calling out, "Calm down, all of you! Starscream, don't forget that you are already being punished for something! Do you want to make it worse on yourself?"

I turned to look at my friend, who snapped, "Worse?! You're holding me until they can figure out a time to kill me!"

"That's not true!" I yelled, but I got drowned out by everyone else.

"Why don't you shut up for two seconds?" Hot Shot yelled.

"Do you really think Optimus is gonna let that happen? God, what's with you, man?" Carlos groaned while looking up at the ceiling and shaking his head.

"Primus Starscream, are you that paranoid?!" Jetfire yelled in an exasperated tone.

Everyone else was basically screaming the same thing, except Optimus and Rad.

Rad leaned over and whispered to me, "You think he's ever going to know?"

I shrugged. "The way this is going? It's a toss-up."

Just as my head began to throb from frustration, Optimus commanded us all to be silent. "No, we're not, Starscream. We need to keep you here because we can't let our own troops take out their anger on you."

"Then tell them you're the leader and get their slagging afts back under control! What's Magnus got that's better than you?" The venom in Starscream's voice was that of a rattlesnake, making me shudder. I'd only seen him this mad on the battlefield.

Hot Shot started to say something, but was silenced with a look from Scavenger.

Optimus continued, "I entrusted Ultra Magnus with caring for Cybertron while I was away because he is devoted to his work, though you may not see it that way, Starscream. We have no time for politics right now, so we're sharing leadership. Now, we have to mobilize. Unfortunately, the kids can't come with us because I don't want to have anger break out against one other over a broken treaty. Understand?" he was admonishing him like he usually admonished Hot Shot.

Then, Starscream said something that made me seriously consider buying a hearing aid. "Why don't you leave Jetfire here? Do you consider him useless along with us?"

"Okay, that's it you l-"

"Jetfire, calm down!" Optimus yelled as Red Alert held him back.

I couldn't believe he'd had the gall to say that. It seemed like ever since Starscream had arrived on Cybertron, his obsession had been turning him back into a Decepticon. Unfortunately, I was powerless to stop it from happening.


	14. Chapter 14

A lot of bad things happen in this chapter.:( I don't own Transformers.

"And we're back to this." I growled as I glared through the bars. I'd been taken to the brig after my little outburst, and Swindle had decided to come with me. Oh well, at least the room wasn't as creepy as the holding area in the Autobots' base. The brig was clean, and bright light filtered down from the ceiling. I was standing in front of the room's only door, made of narrow bars extending high above me. Human size or not, I couldn't leave. The bars were too close together for me to pass through.

At least they let me leave my com link open (which meant I had to wear the suit again, sans helmet), so long as I didn't say anything stupid (When didn't I anymore?). Only traitors had offlined coms. Well, that's how it went with Autobots. With Decepticons, it depends on how your officer's mood is. I'd learned that the hard way, I'll tell that much.

Swindle looked over at me. "And whose fault is that?"

"I don't need the commentary."

"Jetfire didn't need the insult." he replied simply.

I narrowed my eyes. "Being my Mini-Con doesn't mean you have to be a wise-aft like me."

Our lovely little conversation was interrupted by a transmission. "All right, we're heading out with Ironhide's men. Red Alert, hold down the fort."

"Yes, sir. Good luck!"

I rolled my eyes, muttering under my breath as I closed the com link, "You're gonna need more than luck, Prime." I felt so damn frustrated and helpless. I couldn't even dream of getting out of this room, which, lo and behold, was keeping me away from killing Galvatron.

Turning, I leaned back against the bars. "Now how the hell do we get out of here?" I wondered out loud, looking up at the ceiling. It was too thick to burst through. Maybe I could punch out the light? That would make Red Alert come running in. I could fly out while he was blundering around in the dark.

In the meantime, I would have to wait until Prime and the others were far enough away. Sure, there were Autobots left in the base, but I doubted they wanted to go after some useless wannabe while Galvatron was closing the gap. As far as the whole "fulfiling the punishment" went, prisoners had gotten away before, and the most I'd seen of Autobot efforts to get them back were a few bounties on their heads.

Swindle caught me looking up, and realized what I was going to do. "You're crazy, Starscream." he muttered, sounding like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

I shrugged and closed my eyes, trying to relax. Yeah, bright idea there.

"Wonder if they'll really keep the humans stuck here." Swindle murmured.

I opened an eye. "If Prime gives into Ultra Magnus, yes. It wouldn't shock me, though."

"Why not?" Swindle asked.

"Because he's too much of a pushover. Ultra Magnus isn't fit to lead because he's too much of a soldier. He just does what everyone tells him to do. Either Prime is too stupid to realize that, or he doesn't want to piss him off."

"Don't officers normally piss each other off?"

"Yes, but we're talking leaders here. So far as I know, there has always been one leader to each faction. Key words 'has' and 'been' in that sentence. Thanks to Prime jumping the gun and zooming off to Earth instead of sending others to do it, he's split the leadership in two. And seeing the 'oh so healthy' state Autobot politics have fallen into, he's made a helluva mess to clean up."

Swindle paused for a moment to take all this in, and I laughed bitterly. "The wonderful things I know, huh?"

"Same with Alexis."

"Huh?" I asked, cocking my head.

"Remember when I watched Alexis? I found out she's ambitious about becoming a leader of a group of humans called the Americans."

"And you didn't tell me this why?"

"You were too wrapped up in going after Galvatron." he replied simply, folding his arms.

I felt ready to kick myself. He had me there. I cleared my throat and replied in low tone, "Well, she'd better quit following Prime's example, or she's going to end up splitting the Americans every which way."

Swindle nodded, then titled his head to the side. "Starscream, did you ever tell me how you became Galvatron's second-in-command?"

I shook my head, my eyes now fixed on the wall in front of me.

"I'm just curious. Why not?"

"Because there isn't much to tell." I replied simply, not in the mood for this conversation.

That was when the room's light cut. "Huh, one less thing I have to do." I muttered, unfazed.

A mocking laugh suddenly came from the darkness, sending a chill down my spine. "Still evasive as ever."

I whipped out my wingsword, hissing, "You!"

We had to shield our eyes/optics as Sideways's form burst into light in front of Swindle and me.

"What the hell do you want?" I growled, shielding my Mini-Con with my blade. Sideways wasn't solid, but I didn't know what dirty trick he had in mind this time.

He was so odd to look at. I could see his whole body, but I could also see the wall behind it. If he was a ghost, he would've been floating, but he was standing on the floor, which was weird.

That changed as he clenched his left fist, which turned solid. Solid armor shot up his left arm, then to his shoulder, branching into three to go to the left side of his head, middle, and leg. As he clenched his right fist, the effect repeated in the opposite direction.

I leaned back against the bars, my sword still held aloft, unimpressed, though I could see Swindle still trembling out of the corner of my eye. For some strange reason, I highly doubted his main reason was to show off. That was my job. "Well, whatever it is, make it quick. Red Alert's not gonna like finding you in here." I said in an off-hand way, wishing I was bigger. This was the mech that had convinced me to publicly humiliate myself in a brawl with Megatron not too long ago. There was also the fact that he just recently had Hot Shot torn to pieces.

He laughed, leering down at me. "Do you honestly think that a spineless medic like him can stop me? This ship might as well be called my own."

"Oh, did I mention that we're sitting not too far away from over 100 Autobots? You're slipping, Sideways." Swindle nudged me, trying to get me to shut up. I probably sounded pretty stupid, talking back to a transformer that had a screw or two loose and was as unpredictable as a whirlwind, but what else could I do, cower in the corner? Yeah, right.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. I can change things to my own liking." he replied darkly.

I shrugged. "I haven't seen anything happen yet."

Red Alert's footsteps echoed down the hall toward us. I smirked. "And you're out of time."

"Starscream, what did you do, and why is your com li-Sideways!"

I strained to hear any of the kids' voices, but picked up nothing. "Slaggit." Sideways could teleport wherever he wanted to, and if the others were left unattended, forget it. I winced as a mental imgae of Alexis trying to run from one of his bullets, but falling, entered my mind. Not a pretty picture.

I knew Red Alert was smart enough to realize that too, but I also knew that he didn't have it in him to leave a fellow 'Bot to die, even if he was a wise-aft toward him.

"I can see your visor still works." Sideways responded boredly, not even lifting an arm to aim one of his guns.

"Leave Starscream alone, and get out." Red Alert growled, pausing to aim at him.

"Oh, come now, must we always be so hasty? I can see why you're in the middle of a war." the traitor (yes, I can see the irony here) chided.

I motioned Swindle over, and flew up. It felt safer up in the air, since I could move quicker than running. Sideways lazily swatted at me like I was a fly.

"Quit it!" I snapped, and Red Alert ordered, "Knock it off, Starscream."

"Go ahead, free him. This is what you came here to do, isn't it?" Sideways asked the medic.

"You shut up." I growled. Surprisingly, he was being more of a nuisance than a threat. I had to keep my guard up.

"Don't!" Swindle beeped at Red Alert. Scared as he was of Sideways, he also didn't want him to go after the kids or Primus forbid, the other Mini-Cons.

Suddenly, I was staring into the barrel of a gun. "Open the door, or I'll shoot him." Sideways's voice had switched from not caring to concentrating.

"Try that, and I'll stuff my blade so far in there, you'll want it cut off." I was starting to feel a little nervous, but I couldn't show that.

Sideways could tell, though, and once again laughed at me.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I screeched.

He turned his purple head to look at Red Alert again. "It's all up to you."

Slowly, Red made it to the door, and unlocked it, swinging it open, bravely staring into Sideways's optics, his gun still aimed. Slowly, much to my relief, Sideways held up his end of the bargain, but kept staring at him.

"Why won't he fire?" Swindle asked nervously.

I shrugged. I couldn't tell if Red was wondering whether the deranged mech was going to pull another stunt, or if he was too scared to face him down. Sure, he'd fought a lot longer than I had, but Sideways was a completely different kind of enemy, and that was putting it lightly. Whatever the case, I know I had to break up this staring contest, or we weren't getting anywhere.

"Can I go now?" I growled at Sideways, making him look at me again.

"Starscream, enough!" Red Alert yelled.

My eyes widened as the purple arm below me jerked upwards, and a blast exploded from it right into Red Alert's visor, shattering it to bits. It then pierced clean through the back of his head. Swindle gasped as he fell to the floor, energon gushing out through the hole in his head. Guilt gouged me, ready to slice my body apart. Red Alert had died with his weapon still drawn, but not a shot fired, so he could protect ME. I whipped my head to look over at Sideways. "YOU FREAK! WHAT THE SLAG WAS THAT FOR?!"

He shrugged, then made a grab at me. I dodged out of the way, kicking his little finger, my foot stinging (trying to put it lightly here), then flew out of the brig swearing.

I had just rounded the bend when I saw the kids running toward me, looking scared out of their minds from hearing the shot. The first words out of their mouths were, "What did you do?!"

Unfortunately, I couldn't answer. It wasn't that I didn't know what to say, but it was just that I happened to have a purple finger around my mouth. The rest of them were clenching the rest of my body. Swindle let out a cry as he was jerked off my wing by the other one. I knew better than to bite metal, but I did have the nastiest look on my face. Guess Sideways couldn't stand me bitching at him anymore.

"Sideways!"

"Let him go!"

"What do you want?!"

"Where's Red Alert?!"

"What did you do with him?!"

He threw back his head, laughing. "Well kids, looks like you're all alone with no transformer to protect you!"

"Y-you couldn't have! NO!" Alexis cried, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"If you want, you can look at his body."

"Go away, Sideways! Haven't we had enough of you already?" Rad snapped.

"Why is everyone always so mean to me? You will now see things as they really are, and not what fools like Optimus Prime want you to see."

I struggled ins his grip, but stopped suddenly, feeling something slice through me. I still can't explain exactly it felt just then, but afterwards it felt like I'd just gone somewhere different at warped speed, even though I was still in the same room. Weird, I know. The others felt it, too. Swindle twitched slightly in Sideways's hand, while the kids and Mini-Cons shuddered.

"What did you do to us?!" Billy screamed angrily.

"Nothing. Enjoy." At that, his hands became transparent again, and Swindle and I fell as he teleported away.

"Oh no, Swindle!" Fred yelled.

"Grab him!" Carlos shouted.

"Thanks for stating the obvious." I growled sarcastically as I swooped down for him to grab my wing.

"Are you all right?" I asked gently.

"I-I'm fine." he replied shakily as I brought us slowly down for a landing.

Alexis smiled at me, but didn't move toward me. I felt pissed off at her. Sideways could've killed me if he'd wanted to.

"Why didn't anyone call for help?" I asked tersely.

"Sorry man, we didn't know what Sideways was gonna do." Carlos replied with an edge on his tone.

"When you see someone you know about to be killed, you do something, got it?!" I hadn't realized I'd clenched my fist. It was now shaking as I felt guilt threaten to tear me in half again. I felt sweat trail down the back of my neck as I began to pant. Everyone watched me, looks of sympathy on their faces.

"This is about Red Alert, isn't it?" Rad finally asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What do you think, you idiot?!" I snapped, pointing back in the direction I'd come from. "Go see for yourself!"

I took off, startling them, and flew to the bridge, wondering what Sideways had meant earlier. Then again, the mech made Cyclonus look sane. A message was beeping at the communication panel, but I ignored it for the moment.

What suprised me was outside the windows, stars shone instead of the white walls of the base. Landing on the sill of one for a closer look, I murmured, "Oh, slag."

We were now sitting in a crater made by a grenade going off. From the looks of it, the grenade had to have been as big as I was. Out in the distance, gunfire and explosions flashed orange and red. We weren't too far away from Galvatron's band of idiots and the poor Autobot saps that had managed to get themselves stuck watching over that damn outpost.

My eyes narrowed, having figured out what Sideways had meant. He wanted to show the kids what real fighting looked like. That wasn't the only reason he'd brought us here, though. With them being so near the action, they were violating Prime's and Magnus's little agreement, causing all hell to break loose, and throwing everything for the Autobots off, all for Sideways's entertainment. I was starting to wonder if he was as crazy as that one other mech...Nope, can't say his name yet.

This was also my way out of here. All I had to do was grab Swindle and leave.

As I landed, the others ran up to me, not looking that happy.

"Well, we called for help. Not as stupid as you think we are, huh?" Billy challenged. I didn't have the time to explain that things had just gotten A LOT worse.

I turned to Swindle. "Come on."

"Wait, what're you doing?" Rad asked suspiciously.

"In case you haven't noticed, we aren't in the base anymore." I replied slowly, pointing up at the window. Their eyes widened in surprise, and I let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't you get it? Sideways teleported us here. We're not too far from the battle."

"Oh, don't even tell me you're going after Galvatron! That's crazy, man!" Carlos lamented.

I shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, I can do whatever the hell I want. We're miles away from any 'Bot that might have a problem with that." Really, I was smarter than risking my neck by flying through a perpertual obstacle course of mechs and femmes I hated while trying not to be squished by someone on my side blundering around, let alone the fact that I had to hit where it mattered on Galvatron. I needed a place to think, and this definitely wasn't it.

"So you're just gonna run away?" Billy questioned. My hand balled into a fist at my side again, but I let it drop. He wasn't worth it.

"It's either that or become a vegetable. What do think I want to do?" I asked saracastically, and then added, "Any of you who want to stop me, be my guest." Swindle gave me an are-you-serious look, but didn't say anything.

Fred started to cry, Billy folded his arms, Carlos looked shocked, Rad glared at me, then looked away, and Alexis...It was painful to look at her. Anger turned her green gaze metallic, much like the Mini-Cons' seals. If I hadn't had so much pride, I would've spooked. Beneath my fear, I felt something even worse: hate. I wanted to break her neck to make her stop glaring at me. That look made it seem like everything I stood for and everything I was doing was wrong. I was right when I thought I couldn't trust her. At the same time, though, I felt as if I was about to be thrown into a pit of spikes. What exactly was I doing?

A moment later, she was in my face, pounding her fist in my chest. "Then get going, you FREAK! We don't need you around here anyway! Be a Decepticon for all I care, you filthy mutt!"

I felt my right arm being grabbed by someone. Turning, I saw Swindle holding onto it, its fist clenched, ready to hit her. I stared in horror at it as she walked away from me, then returned with my helmet. I barely had enough time to catch it as she thrust it as hard as she could at my chest.

"Get the hell out, Starscream! Everyone else was right about you!" Turning on her heel, she shouldered roughly through the boys, then ran away, Sureshock trailing after her.

I felt their searing gazes on me, and surprised myself by threatening, "If anything happens to her, I'll make all of you pay for it."

As I turned my back, I heard Fred whimper. Whatever.

I slammed the helmet down over my head, then flew up to the control to open the ship's door (I'd seen Red Alert do it before). It was dead silent, save for the sound of the boys leaving so they wouldn't suffocate. Personally, I didn't mind that at the time.

I pressed a control that would close the door thirty seconds after opening it. Weird, I know, but it's still used today for scout missions. It gives just enough time for a mech/femme to leave without having to worry about the ship's inside being damaged. I was using it because I was doubting that the boys would be smart enough to realize that all of the oxygen had lift the ship until Alexis would clutch on their suits, blue in the face, trying to scream, "YOU DIDN'T CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR?!" Whether I hated her or not, that thought still made me wince. I let Swindle latch onto me just before I flew out, speeding through the darkness. It was good to be out again, but I wasn't particularly liking where I was flying through.

Reaching down, Swindle flipped my com link on my arm back on, making me lurch down for a minute. "Swindle, don't do that!" I growled.

"Well, how was I going to hear you?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. Yup, another rule down the drain. Who was counting, anyway?

"So, I just got myself into the deepest slag possible. Any ideas?" I asked. We were fine as long as neither of us mentioned where we were. As far as Prime knew, we were still on the ship.

A red arm pointed above me to a shadowed area rising out of the distance, made up of what looked like a couple of abandoned buildings and massive piles of scrap. Cybertron was turning into a dump, but hey, it was my dump.

"Good choice." I replied, flying toward it. Not only could we hide there, but the signal would fade. By the time Prime went looking for me, I'd be out of sight.

Not surprisingly, I was flying toward my own death. Again.


	15. Chapter 15

A LOT is revealed here. My OC Crypt makes a return appearance, but as to why he recognizes Starscream is up to the audience to decide. If I had him explain it, he would seem less insane. I don't own Transformers.

I banked downward past a low-hanging metal beam. Save for Swindle and me having a little conversation here and there, it was dead silent. This place had been abandoned for thousands of years, and the silence was making me feel very uneasy.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Swindle asked.

"Somewhere sheltered, so I can think, and soon." There was debris scattered everywhere, but none of it was in piles. The buildings had their tops blown off and were too high for me to hide in without being seen. Looked like a hit-and-run airstrike that had gone a little too well had happened here. Just my luck. Let's face it, being a "traitor" sucked. I couldn't fly forever.

After I didn't know how long, I saw an opening to what looked like a tunnel, half hidden beneath a thick titanium block that was rooted hard to the ground jutting over it. Next to the block were several others, and above them was what remained of a three-story building with barred windows. A prison? I didn't think it was a Decepticon one. Those were below ground. Then again, I hadn't seen too many Autobot ones above ground (this is also coming from a 'Bot that had only been in a bomb shelter-style one).

"We can rest in here." I decided, flying down toward it, Swindle clinging to me uneasily.

I landed inside its entrance, feeling a strong wind blow toward me as I set Swindle down. Even though the building's oxygen supply had long since been lost, this tunnel had a lot left, and this thing ran DEEP.

Slowly, I took off my helmet, laid it against one of the tunnel's inner walls, and leaned against the same wall, Swindle doing the same on the opposite wall.

I should've known what was coming next, but oh no, I had to think that a supposedly abandoned tunnel with a steady oxygen supply had been deserted. I really wasn't going to get this concept called "common sense."

Suddenly, bright lights (bright as in staring into a pair of headlights) clicked on over us, blinding Swindle and me.

I stumbled toward him, clutching my face in agony (and screaming) as I did so, and he stumbled toward me, his optics offline.

Yeah, that didn't go well. We smacked headfirst into each other (hurt like hell), and fell in a heap on the floor as I heard the sound of screeching metal coming from above us.

Cracking an eye open beneath a shield of fingers, I watched a rusty shutter slam shut, cutting us off from the outside.

Normally, I would've been able to get Swindle and myself out of there before the sluggish thing finally closed, but my head was throbbing (which it oftentimes did), the wind was whipping my ponytail painfully to the side, and my eyes were dangerously close to being burned out of their sockets.

Right after that, a series of crackling sounds that made my eye twitch came, and the lights died down to a gentle, but creepy, gray. Yup, this had definitely been connected at some point to the prison above. I could tell from the lighting. I know, odd that I could figure out that kind of thing from experience, huh?

Slowly, nudging Swindle off of me, I got up, holding out my hand for him. "You okay?"

His optics came back online as he took it. "A little freaked out, but I'm good." he replied in a shaky voice. Yeah, I know I was pretty freaked out too, but somebody had to hold everything together somewhat. (The meaning for somewhat's kinda up for debate here)

I walked over to the shutter, and smacked a fist on it. It didn't even budge. Rusty or not, this steel was hella thick. I let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, guess what? It's gonna take way too long to get through this before whatever locked us in here finds us."

"So, what should we do?" Swindle asked as I headed over to pick up my helmet, even though he most likely already knew the answer.

"Simple," I replied as I stood up, "We kick its aft."

XXXXXX

Strange as this sounds, it wasn't the fact that there were things like dead bodies or energon-dripping chains that freaked me out. It was the fact that there was NOTHING to see that freaked me out.

We were flying again, Swindle holding my helmet for me, heading toward the opposite end of the hallway, which was a little black hole that was steadily growing larger. On either side of the hall was nothing but wall, no doors, no equipment, nothing. Even though I didn't see any cameras around, I wasn't dumb enough to forget about cloaking technology.

About a third of the way down, I had to land. I couldn't push myself too far, or I wouldn't have any strength to defend us from what was shaping up to be a Decepticon. Yeah, that was so unpredictable.

We jogged the rest of the way, my hair being turned into a windsock once again, grating on my nerves. I was trying to stay on task here. In my right hand I held my wingsword to my side so it would not get blown toward my chest and gut me, while in my left I held onto Swindle's arm, tugging him along beside me, half expecting the wall to pop open at any moment. The wind's whistling sound didn't help the fact that even our own shadows were starting to make me take stutter steps. My pulse was pounding in my ears, three times as fast as at the dance, my eyes stretched as wide as they could go. It felt like I was going to stuck like this forever.

Well, it didn't turn out that way, which was good, I guess, except for the fact that when we did finally make it into the black hole, we came face-to-face with Crypt.

XXXXXX

Badly flickering ceiling lights on the room's ceiling and the gray light coming in from the hallway behind showed us a circular room containing a lab table with long-dried energon on it, having restraints barely hanging off of it from age and bad tearing, some of them already on the floor. Lovely. Shelves stocked with crates and boxes were lying on the floor, strange-looking and smelling liquids leaking out of the boxes. Dried energon also stained the dented walls around us. Two huge vents built into the far back walls with whiriling fans and humming and air tanks behind them explained the wind. It didn't take much to figure out what went on here: a fight, and a big one. I felt my back lock itself out, the hairs bristling on the back of my neck as Swindle tugged in fear on my arm. I tried to wriggle it free to get it around him, but he wouldn't let go.

The blue screen of a large computer stared back at us, illuminating its keyboard, as well as the mech chained to the wall beside it, who lifted his head when he heard us step into the room.

I grimaced when I saw that skull-shaped face. It was disgusting by itself, but now it a deep black slash mark, stretching diagonally across his face from the top right corner to the bottom left corner, barely missing his right optic. Wires were now hanging out of his mouth, sparking a little. He was incredibly skinny, faded red optics, the faded silver armor, and the fact that the wall behind him, the chains holding his arms up, and the computer were looking almost completely licked clean of energon (nasty, I know), I could tell that he'd been there for a while.

I could've turned and left right then, but I didn't. If I wanted to figure out what the slag these dreams I'd had meant, I had to stay put. Swindle let out a groan next to me, finally giving up on trying to pull me out of the room.

I felt a cold hand grip my throat as the mech rasped said after about three tries (complete with the eye-twitching sound effect of thick metal grating on wires), "So, you've finally come back, Starscream."

"What?!" I yelped. If Swindle hadn't been holding me down, I would've jumped a foot in the air. How did a psychopathic "medic" like this mech know who I was without even seeing me before? Hell, no Cybertronian had ever seen a human until just a few months before.

I think he tried to laugh, but I didn't hear any noise come out. Forget it kids, I didn't feel sorry for him. He was creeping me out way too much.

With some effort, I pulled myself back together and growled, "Quit, you piece of slag. Look, I need you to tell me about an Autobot femme named Aura, and a Decepticon mech named Blackflare."

He looked taken aback. "Guess the name was a lucky guess?" Swindle whispered hopefully. Unfortunately, I had to beg to differ. I also highly doubted that Megatron would have a freak like this on alert to grab me when he couldn't even move his own damn hand.

"W-why do you want to know that?" he rasped. This mech really needed to work on his poker face. Then again, I would as well if I was chained to the wall.

I felt a smile creeping up my own. "What's it to ya?"

"My well-being."

"Pfft! Who's gonna hear ya down here? It's a wonder you're still alive in this slagpit!" I snapped.

He shook his head, then let out a sigh. "It's always such a shame when one of my projects is forever unhinged. All right, fine."

To my surpise, his right hand slid out of its cuff, and hit a few keys on the computer's keyboard. He could've gotten out all along, but instead he stayed here. This mech was way beyond saving in any way, shape, or form.

Images and words appeared on the screen, and Crypt resized them so I could see them easily. Finally, he backed off.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You gonna leave me alone?"

He offlined his optics as he nodded. "My work with you is done."

"Uh. Huh." I muttered, and Swindle whispered, "Are you out of your fragging mind? You know we can't trust him."

"If I'm going to figure out what I'd been passing out all the time, this is what I gotta do."

Reluctantly, Swindle held onto my wing, and I flew over to land on the keyboard's edge. Since it was transfomer-sized, I had plenty of room left to walk on with falling. Swindle headed over to watch Crypt in case he did anything crazy.

I read as fast as I could, occasionally hopping onto the scroll button to read more.  
It's strange how quick your mood can I change. At first, I was on the edge, excited to finally figure everything out, and on my guard in case the psychopath next to us tried anything. Then, I felt a little disturbed at what I was reading, and angry. Finally, I felt like I was ready to be sick. Betrayal, raw fear, and disgust ripped through me. I felt completely cold and wet from the sweat running all over my body. It felt like my heart was going to bust right out of me. I felt like I couldn't breathe, my hands gripping my throat, trying to get my throat to work again.

"Starscream!" Swindle yelled as I bent down and threw up.

"Are you okay?" he yelled, shaking me.

I finally could breathe again, so I tore my fingers from my throat to wipe my mouth off.

"Crypt," I growled, "You fragging excuse for a medic, let me out of here NOW!"

I was expecting him to keep me in here with him and let me go even crazier than he was.

But instead, I heard his hand slide out of the cuff again, and press a button on the computer.

A heavy clanking sound came as a huge metal door built into the ceiling swung upwards. This place HAD been connected to the building above.

"Why did you keep us here before?" I snarled.

"What, I can't see how one of my projects is faring? If I hadn't kept you here, I wouldn't've seen you."

"Go to the Pit!" I snapped, yanking my helmet out of Swindle's hands. He grabbed onto me as I flew up and out, nearly crashing into thick metal as I flew out a broken wall of the building above, flying as far from that maniac as I could.

"Starscream, Starscream! What's wrong?!" Swindle yelled in my com link, making my eye twitch at how loud he was yelling.

I let out a sigh, not stopping. "Swindle, Alexis was right."

"What? You're not making any sense!"

I took a deep breath, and reluctantly, I explained, "Those two transformers, Aura and Blackflare...They were my creators."

"Are you serious?!"

"Both were captured and killed under Megatron's orders, but I was...taken before Aura was killed. Megatron apparently thought he could have the Autobot part of me removed for good, so I was given to Crypt. He...Oh Primus...He nearly killed me in his experiments before I could even talk. He's the reason why my voice is messed up. That fragger gave me brain damage!" I roared.

I felt him clutch tighter to me. "...I....I'm so sorry, Starscream." He was deeply afraid for me, as if I was going to die if he didn't hold onto me.

I shook my head. "It can't be helped now. Those dreams were my memory repairing itself. They started happening after Alexis made a necklace out of a piece of that rock I gave her. It's tied to my spark somehow. Maybe her taking care of the necklace was inadvertently fixing me up."

"But how did you see your parents before they had you? It doesn't make any sense."

I was barely able to keep my voice below a snap. "There were hidden Decepticon security cameras around. He knew, but he couldn't believe that this was possible. Guess he expected Blackflare to go after some whore. Anyway, Crypt showed me these and then hurt me (I was putting it lightly) as an experiment to make me not want to find out who my creators were."

"And I guess him making you second-in-command was to keep you nearby."

"And to pound me into a good little Decepticon niche. I was always wondering why I was chosen as a youngling."

We didn't say anything else. Didn't need to. It felt like claws were slicing into me, tearing out whatever I had and replacing it with this slag. Why the hell did it have to be fragging me?!?!?!

I felt REALLY tired, more so than usual, but I still pushed myself.

"Starscream, slow down, you're shaking!" Swindle didn't need to tell me that because I was now falling, too tired to scream. He took care of that for me.

We landed on something under what remained of an overhang. Luckily, I was flying so low that we didn't get hurt.

Swindle let out a cry as metal arced over us. We'd landed on someone's hand. Couldn't've been Crypt.

"What's this?" came a faint whisper in my com link. I could feel air blowing toward me. Whoever had said that was right next to me. I turned my head to stare into two tired blue optics framed against a white face with pink horns protruding from its top.

"Elita-One." I said in a shocked voice, then passed out on her hand.


	16. Chapter 16

Elita reveals what happened to her after she was captured on Cybertron, the incident that Starscream had mentioned in the final chapter of The Choices We Make. I've added Blitzwing into the fic because I needed to help build a backstory for the dump Starscream and company are curretnly in. Plus, Blitzy also has something to do with Crypt's past. And of course, who can't love good old Blitzwing? I don't own Transformers.

I had the oddest feeling when I woke up. Someone was STROKING MY BACK. I jerked up, yelping, "What the slag are you doing?!"

"Ah, he iz avake."

I froze as that registered in my com link, and then whispered, "Oh frag, you have got to be kidding me." I tilted my head to the side and upwards, going after where the voice had come from. It didn't surprise me that he was there, but it didn't make me feel that much better.  
Remember when I said there was a mech that was crazier than Cyclonus? Well, I was looking at him: Blitzwing. This was the mech who sparklings told scary stories to each other about. He was a freaking maniac with three personalities. He killed his own commanding officer and later a bunch of others in a rampage. And what the hell was with the weird-aft accent? He'd been a Decepticon, and now had a bounty on his head, which made me wonder why no one was after me for being insane as well. Anyway, as far as anyone knew, he'd flown off the radar, something that was easy to do in this dump.

A blue face with two optics, one insanely huge, stared back at me, then turned to look at something on his hand. "Jour friend iz quite rezilient, Swindle."

"LET HIM GO, YOU FRAGGING PRICK!!!" I shrieked, thrashing underneath the fingers that had stopped moving. Whether or not my holder wanted to keep me down, the fingers were too heavy to get from under. Oh great, deja vu. Damn Thrust.

"Starscream, it's okay!"

"Starscream, calm down!" My ears were ringing as Swindle and Elita-One screamed into my com link similtaneously. The fingers came off of my back, and I rolled onto it to look up at her. "Apparently I missed something." I muttered, which didn't even begin to cover the situation.

I forced myself to be still as Blitzwing's hand came toward the one I was on, dropping Swindle next to me. My partner helped me up, saying, "We thought you'd never wake up."

I groaned. "How long was I out?"

"Five days. You were completely exhausted." Elita answered gently.

"Five days?! Who knows what could've happened since then?!"

"If zhat coward Galvatron vas pounded into scrap metal, ve vould certainly know!" I was taken aback a little at Blitzwing's shout. Looking over, I saw that his face had switched, showing a red one with a visor. I was wondering if he spat fire like the stories said.

"Keep it down, Blitzwing!" Elita whispered in an agitated tone.

I took a quick look around. We weren't under the overhang anymore. It looked like we were inside an old building, built low to the ground with its roof having already caved in. Its walls were falling apart slowly. Natural nighttime light was filtering in from the gap, touching the floor. Elita-One and Blitzwing were sitting at seperate corners, each partially in shadow. I knew they had others after them, but wasn't that a little over the top? Wait...

"You two are working together, aren't you?" I asked.

With a knowing smile, she nodded.

"But why? He's crazy!"

"Zhank jou for zhe compliment, Starscream." Blitzwing replied sarcastically. Looking over, I saw he still had his ticked-off face on, and was barely keeping himself from snapping at me.

Swindle punched me in the arm. "Knock if off, Screamer! You can trust him! He didn't do anything to me, did he?"

I looked back into his determined face carefully. He didn't waver, keeping his yellow gaze locked solidly on mine. I let out a sigh of defeat. "All right. I'll hear ya out. Who's first?"

The two looked at each other, and Elita shrugged. "You were here first."

Blitzwing's face switched to reveal a black one with red optics and a creepy, jaggedy smile of the same color.

"Zhat iz true! I von zhe race! Hee hee hee!" I felt my eye start to twitch.

Luckily for me he switched back to the blue face. "Very vell. Believe it or not, zhis place vas my prison after I vas framed."

"Framed?! For what? You killed off your officer and several others!" I could barely keep my voice below a shout.

He chuckled. "I knew it. I thought none of jou ever could get zhe story straight."

I raised an eyebrow and sat back down on Elita's hand, it being the safest place here. "Well, let's hear it."

"Vell, I hall begin vith zhe firt lie. I didn't kill mein officer. Zhat bastard, Astrotrain, did, but made it look like I did. Dirge and I later got into a fight about it, und he put mein optic out." He pointed at his creepy-looking enlarged red optic.

I shuddered. "That had to suck."

He nodded slowly, and suddenly gripped the steel wall behind him, quaking. I could guess what was happening: he was trying to stop his red face from taking over and exposing us. All we could do was watch in silence. If we distracted him, his weird-aft black face would pop out, and that would be even worse. I really wasn't liking having him around so far. How was I going to believe this maniac?

When he finally calmed down, he went on. "Zhe medic zhat repaired me thought it was in mein...best interest (he had problems saying this) zhat I should be enlisted in a program for 'special Decepticons' like me. Zhat 'program' vas an insane asylum, vhere zhat damned Crypt, zhe doctor in charge, tortured and experimented on us to make our insanity useful." His voice was shaking as he spoke.

I felt the color drain from my face. I whirled on Swindle. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I was going to, but you didn't give me a chance." he replied sheepishly.

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Question: Why is he chained to the wall?"

"I vas vondering vhen jou vere going to ask zhat question. He'd inquired about zhat earlier. I am not surprised to learn zhat old Crypt is still zhere."

I faced Blitzwing again. "Would it kill you to get to the point?"

Oh great, his black face was now looking back at me. "But it iz so fun to take zhe scenic route! Jou need to slow down and smell zhe energon!"

I tapped my foot impatiently until he got control of himself again. Elita gave me a sympathetic glance. I was surprised that she hadn't gone crazy herself from having to deal with him on a daily basis. She must've been REALLY desperate.

With a bitter laugh, Blitzwing continued. "Zhat vas mein doing, Starscream. I needed to escape, and he vas barring mein vay. Not suprising at all zhat I vas zhe last vone out alive," he paused, and I saw pain in his optics, darker than I'd seen in any others before. Almost like...my own. Finally, he continued, "Vith mein own control. I cannot say zhe same for Oil Slick und Sixshot. Zhey became weapons zhemselves. I escaped from zhe asylum und hid until I intercepted news zhat it vas destroyed, along vith zhe area around it, by an Autobot air raid."

"How do you explain the 'killing off several others' part?" I asked suspiciously.

He shrugged. "Zhere vere others in zhe building. Crypt must have blamed me for the deaths of his other vorkers after I had left. He did make few contact attempts to Galvatron, after all. Galvatron probably told his intelligence officers zhat I had killed fellow soldiers and not asylum vorkers to keep ze projecttop secret. Shockwave und Soundwave were the only others who knew about it."

"Workers?" Nothing was making sense all of a sudden. Should've seen this coming.

"Var criminals deemed unfit to fight. Zhey vere enlisted in zhis secret project as 'helpers,' zhough zhey vould never be deserving of zhose titles! Zhere vas a tolerant vone, but Crypt ovved her soon enough."

"Lemme guess, you got too cozy with her, he found out, thought she was crazy too, and killed her in one of his failed experiments. Nice job." I drawled sarcastically, feeling Swindle kick my side.

"Enough." Elita growled in a warning tone while Blitzwing was trying to get control of himself again. It took longer this time. How'd I come up with that idea? If you're asking that question, please get your fragging aft back to the last chapter and stay there until you realize that I've seen it all.

I decided to change the subject. "Why'd you leave all those other inmates behind? You're taking care of her right now, so don't give me that 'I work alone' crap."

"She iz in a better condition zhan zhey vere in. It took two weeks for me to regain mein strength. Zhey vould have only slowed me down."

"So how'd all of Crypt's helpers die?"

"Murdered by vild inmates, malnourisment, suicides..." Blitzwing ticked each one off on his fingers, "Anyvay, I hid here because I knew Galvatron vas going to come after me, and vhat better place zhan vhere I had come from? Especially since ze mad doctor vas taken back for a new assignment for a little vhile."

I turned and looked down at Swindle, relying on my eyes to ask if he'd told them. My back was to Elita and Blitzwing, so they couldn't see my expression. He shook his head, and I felt relieved. I returned my gaze to the two.

"Mein story ends. Jour turn, frau."

She let out a sigh. "There isn't much to tell. After escaping Galvatron, I ran off into this dump like a coward, and stumbled upon Blitzwing. I aimed my gun at him, but he didn't aim his cannons back. Instead, he told me to keep quiet, and he would hide me until help could arrive. When I didn't believe him, he showed me these."

She motioned to him to move forward. My eyes widened at what I saw. Blitzwing had long since torn off his insignias on his chestplate and wings, which had to hurt like hell because they had been welded on. Every Decepticon insignia was like that. He'd replaced them with flat iron chunks to keep the wounds closed.

"Nice job," I muttered, "You have no idea where those things came from. You're probably getting energon poisoning."

His crazy face laughed at me. "Vhat's zhe matter, Starscream? Afraid ov a little dirt?"

I turned back to Elita. "Okay, I get the point."

"Well, I stayed with him and waited until Optimus returned from Earth."

"You knew about the Mini-Cons waking up?" I asked in surprise.

"Zhe computer underneath zhe asylum iz still functional. Zhe alarm vas deafening."

"And your friend told us all about his return." she added.

"What've you been waiting for, Elita? Now that he's back, you should be getting the hell out of here!" If I'd been in her position, I wouldn't've waited around for five days.

"Ve vere vaiting for jou to vake up. Jou vould have been too much dead veight if jou vere unconscious. It iz easier if jou can protect jourself." Blitzwing replied matter-of-factly, pissing me off.

"Protect myself from what?"

"A bounty hunter. Blitzwing saw a shadow lurking around the outskirts of this dump not too long ago. Now that my mate has returned, it's become more imperative than ever to find me. Galvatron's hired some of the best to look for me in places that haven't been checked too well."

"Any idea who the hunter is?" I asked.

Blitzwing shook his head. "He disappeared before I could get a guten look. It iz not Sixshot, zhat much I do know. He vas killed on a hunt not too long after leaving zhe asylum. Crypt was very disappointed vhen he read zhat report."

"I can bet it's someone who used to live here before it was destroyed. They'd have to know the area well. Any ideas?"

Blitzwing laughed bitterly. "Starscream, jour jouth robs jou ov knowledge. Zhere vas no city here. Most of zhe buildings vere built as bait for zhe Autobots to destroy. Zhe few zhat vere used vere prisons for rejected soldiers of zhe Decepticon ranks. Zhat vay, it vould be a vaste of time und effort for zhe Autobots to destroy zhis area. Of courze, zhey vouldn't know zhat until after zheir attack ended."

"How'd you know that?"

"Crypt told us. He also explained zhat zhe project took place here because it vould give us more 'motivation' to 'get better.' He stressed zhat each day spent here could end in death. After all, zhere vas no protection here."

I wouldn't put it past psycho Crypt to be okay with living as a sitting duck. From what I saw and heard, he was shaping up to be ten times as crazy as Blitzwing. So, as a sparkling I'd lived in a dingy old lab before I was forced to live on my own. Lovely. Did I want to believe this? Hell no. Did I have to? Yes. This was the only story that made any sense at all. Ironic, since it was being told by a raving lunatic and a femme that had been an enemy to me not too long ago. Had I wanted Galvatron to catach Elita-One again before I became an Autobot? Yes. It would've meant less beatings for me if he'd been happy.

I felt something nagging at me, and looked at Blitzwing again. "So, what're you going to do after we get out of here?"

"I don't know, but I vill remain as long as I am needed." came his simple reply.

"I still owe you my life, Blitzwing. I'll do what I can to help you." Elita said to him in a commanding voice.

To tell the truth, I was ready to laugh at her when she'd said that. Years ago, she wouldn't've given a crap what happened to Blitzwing, since he was a Decepticon and she was an Autobot, but now things had been flipped. She was being hypocritical, just like Optimus. The two of them stood to defeat the Decepticons at any cost, but at the same time they welcomed them with open arms.

"Ve vill see, Elita. Guten nacht." At that, he curled into a ball for recharge.

"What'd he say?" I asked.

"It means good night. We rotate who takes watch every few hours," she explained, then looked down at the two of us, "You two had better get some recharge."

"After hearing that? No thanks."

Swindle gave a yawn next to me. I looked over at him. "You recharge. I'll take care of the watch with her."

He nodded, then laid down on her hand.

I climbed onto the other one she offered, and she set me on her shoulder. "I'm surprised you're letting me this close to you." I muttered.

"Swindle can't hear our com link tranmission as well from down there if we keep quiet."

"I'm not stupid. Aren't you forgetting what I used to be?" I replied in an irritated voice.

"Of course. You were Megatron's second-in-command. I doubt that you will be able to do much to me now, other than poke me with your tiny sword." she said the last part in a joking tone.

I rolled my eyes. "Look, my point is that I did meet some of the other Autobots on Cybertron, and they tried to kill me. And the other humans with us? Forget it. They had so many rules against them, they might as well have been put in cages."

"Because everyone is suspicious from when that freak eliminated many of our soldiers. Swindle did tell me about that." she informed gravely.

"Speaking of freak, is that what you think of me as? I wouldn't be surpised. And don't gloss over everything like Prime does." I pressed.

She frowned, keeping her gaze ahead as she patrolled the building. Her skinny frame's pink and white parts were barely visible beneath dirt and oil. To be blunt, she looked pathetic, but who wouldn't be if they had to live here?

Finally, she gave me her answer, sounding like a mother. "Starscream, I understand that some members of our faction just can't find it in themselves to give everyone a chance before judging them, but as for the others, their opinions can be changed, but won't if you don't act like you don't care."

"Of course I care!" I snapped, and she warned me to keep my voice down. "You don't get it, do you? I don't look at everyone that way because I want to. I have to!"

"Why?" she asked.

"You're just like Optimus. No wonder you love him. You two automatically think that everyone will take care of you, no matter what happens. If you would've gotten out of your little comfort zone, you wouldn't've been rotting in a cell!"

She was completely emotionless as she asked, "Are you done?"

I shrugged. "For now, I guess."

"Good. I did want to fill you in something that you may not have heard before."

"Well, I'm waiting." We were walking around outside the building now. She probably didn't want the maniac inside to hear this.

"While I was Galvatron's prisoner, he did torture me, as you well know, but it was never specified how, was it?"

I had a feeling for this was going. "You aren't kidding, are you?"

"This is something you don't kid about. He raped me, Starscream. All the while I writhed in pain, and did lose hope that my mate would ever free me. In fact, when that fragger was finished with me, I thought that no one would ever want to come for something as disgusting as me." Her voice was like jagged glass as she told me.

"I knew it." I murmured after a silence. Only Galvatron would stoop that low. Prime's fragile mind would never be able to realize that.

"You and I are the only two that know. Blitzwing is far too unstable, and I don't want to taint your Mini-Con's mind with this information." Poor Elita. She meant well, but she should've known that if a Mini-Con was with a Decepticon, he or she was beyond being just "tainted."

"But why me? What do I have to do with this?"

"Because I know there's something you haven't been telling me, Starscream." she replied in an even tone.

I was surprised that she'd managed to keep her gaze ahead the entire time we'd have this conversation. I was actually kind of glad, to tell the truth.

I chuckled. "You've changed, Elita."

"Yes, but I still know who I am. Otherwise, I would fear for my life. That's why I still believe in Optimus. He is a part of me."

"Lemme guess, if I tell you this, you're gonna help me figure out who I am?"

It was her turn to laugh. "I'm not magical, Starscream, but I fear that you won't tell anyone if you don't start now."

So, she hadn't even suspected that I'd told Swindle. Like the other transformers (and humans) that didn't have Mini-Cons, she was naive enough to think that a Mini-Con couldn't figure out if something was wrong with its owner. She had no clue that one of these things could read its owner's emotions like a book. Of course, I didn't want to tell her that.

Something was pissing me off, and it was the fact that Optimus had told me I needed to find out about Blackflare and Aura on my own. Exactly how much had he known about them? And what did Elita know? Suddenly, I wasn't very comfortable with telling her anything. Plus, even though they couldn't possibly have a clue about what Crypt did to me, I wasn't willing to tell a hypocrite about it. Yeah, I felt bad that she was raped, but I wasn't ready to trust her yet. Didn't know when I would be ready to.

"Well, let's just say I'm much more of a hybrid than you think I am." I didn't give a damn about letting her know I found out about my creators, since that was what her conniving mate had been wanting me to do all along.


	17. Chapter 17

This is probably the saddest chapter I've ever written. I wanted to dedicate this entire part of the story to Red Alert's memory, since he did so much for his teammates and the kids during the show. Plus, he's one of my favorite characters. I actually found my inspiration for this when I listened to Avenged Sevenfold's "Afterlife." It's one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. Okay, now I have two other things to say. The first is that I realized I made a mistake in having Alexis's mother being deceased, since she is mentioned as being alive twice in the canon. However, these instances were too few for me to pick up until I watched a few episodes over again after I finished The Choices We Make. Lynn will remain six feet under in this fic because I need her for a dream-like sequence later on. The second is the fact that I have Alexis and the other kids in 10th grade. I'd just watched First Encounter again yesterday and found out that they are in fact in 7th. I'm not going to change this either because Starscream is 16 in my story, making the age gap between him and Alexis far too big. Sorry about the long rant guys! I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

I thought I was dreaming as I watched Red Alert's corpse being carried away. Help had arrived not too long ago, and needless to say, no one was in particularly high spirits. Only our original team and about three other Autobots had doubled back. Those who did not appear hadn't wanted to encroach on a personal viewing, Hoist had said, though the burial would be public.

We bowed our heads in respect as our friend passed by us, though not before I caught a glimpse of a gray arm hanging uselessly over the large metal slab that was being used as a stretcher. Afterwards Scavenger explained to us that transformers lose their colors when they die. Longarm, perched on Red Alert's shoulder, let out one mournful cry after another. He'd been left behind when his partner had gone to see what Starscream was up to, not knowing just what he was walking into.

Slowly, we followed them back to the bridge, where the two palbearers, Scavenger and Jetfire, placed his body on an elevated surface for all of us to see.

I tore my teary gaze away from his limp form, feeling the same painful lump form in my throat as when Mom had died, and also when Smokescreen had been shot. I'd once again taken someone for granted, thinking he would always be okay. Optimus had told us himself that Red Alert had been a veteran fighter. And yet here he was.

Instead, I looked at my friends. Rad looked up at Red Alert with a respectful expression, thanking him for all he had done for us. Carlos was rubbing tears off his face with his arm. I couldn't see Billy's face because he was loooking down, his shoulders quivering. I could hear him sniffling. Fred's face was buried in his hands as he let out drawn out sobs.

The sound of one of the Autobots moving toward the stretcher made me look up. He was one I didn't know. He was colored red and white with a chevron on top of his head. He laid a gray hand over Red Alert's broken visor, almost as if he was going to try to fix it. "Whoever did this is gonna PAY." he growled angrily.

"Don't worry, Ratchet. We'll make sure of that." Scavenger promised in a dark tone as he walked toward Red Alert's body to pay his respects.

That was when Optimus came up. With a nod, Ratchet departed, and Scavenger did soon after. All of us watched him as he bent his head down, clutching at the platform for support. His entire being was shaking as sobbing noises came from deep within him. I thanked God that he was facing away from me, sparing me from seeing the pain in his optics.

After what seemed like hours, he threw his head back and shrieked, "Tell me! What did he do to deserve this?!" His scream was further emphasized by Longarm's agonizing cries.

That scene will forever haunt me. Optimus had been pleading with Primus, the transformers' creator, to return Red Alert's spark to his body. Dad had probably begged God to do the same thing when Mom flatlined, though I wasn't around to see it. I now understood why he didn't want me to.

With a sigh, Optimus heaved himself back into reality, straightening up and moving aside for the others to pay their last respects.

Jetfire was next. He placed a hand on the stretcher, his other balled in a shaking fist down at his side. "Don't worry, Red. We'll get him."

Blurr followed him, bowing his head in respect to the medic, then raising it back up to make a crisp salute.

Hearing someone coming toward us, I turned to see Hot Shot and Sideswipe, each holding out a hand for us to climb on. While Hot Shot looked angry, Sideswipe looked ready to cry.

Hoist's last respects had me wiping my eyes. He bent down before the stretcher, clasped his hands above his head, and sobbed, his body shaking. He owed his life to Red Alert, but now he never could repay that debt.

Rad, Carlos, Billy, Fred, and I climbed on Hot Shot's hand while Highwire, Grindor, and Sureshock climbed on Sideswipe's.

I forced myself to look at Red Alert's body.

I remembered telling Chris that Mom had looked like she was just sleeping when we saw her at the funeral viewing. Chris just stared at me and muttered, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Even though my sister and I never got along, I could kind of see her point. Red Alert looked like he'd had everything that kept him going sucked right out. His head and other limbs lolled uselessly, and his lively red and blue colors had faded to a cloudy gray.

The vision became blurred, and I realized I was crying. We all were, now that we were so close to him. Hot shot lowered us down to touch Red Alert's fingers one last time. I tried to give Longarm a comforting look, but it was no use. He was stuck in a world of sadness.

After pulling us back up, Hot Shot let out a sigh, saying to the corpse, "I'm sorry. For everything I've done." Everyone knew that Hot Shot and Red Alert tended to have their falling-out sessions, and now he was feeling guilty for every last one of them, even though they had already been forgiven. Poor guy.

We passed on, giving Sideswipe and the Mini-Cons room.

Sideswipe looked as if he was apologizing to the medic for not getting to know him better.

Highwire, Grindor, and Sureshock formed Peceptor, who said something in the Mini-Cons' language. I couldn't tell exactly what he said, but I could guess. After Perceptor had finished, he climbed off of Sideswipe's hand to speak with Longarm. Realizing this would take the two a while, Sideswipe joined us.

It was strange. Usually, we would've been talking and joking together, but right now, nobody talked. The silence crushed us that much. Instead, we watched the two remaining Autobots approach Red Alert's body.

An Autobot that I'd thought for a second was Bluestreak came first, looking down at the body with anguish.

"That's Prowl." Hot Shot whispered to us.

Billy's and Fred's eyes widened at the name, but they said nothing. Carlos looked over at Blurr, but didn't say a word either.

The last one to say goodbye was a massive blue and white mech, who Sideswipe said was Ultra Mangus. He clasped Red Alert's hand in his own tightly, then let go, the hand clenching into a fist.

Perceptor, noticing that this was the last mourner, left Longarm with his partner and climbed onto the blue hand that was offered.

"They're just gonna leave Longarm there with him?" Carlos asked.

Sideswipe shook his head and replied in a painful voice, "Not at the burial." He was probably thinking of when his parents had been killed.

I turned to Rad. "This isn't gonna be the last one. We all know that."

If things had been different between us, he probably would have given me a hug. Instead, he nodded soberly.

I gave Red Alert's dejected body one last look, and found myself wondering how Starscream would have acted if he was still here.

I felt anger build up in me all of a sudden. He was so obsessed with killing that he hadn't even bothered to honor the mech who SAVED HIS LIFE!

But beneath all of the anger, I felt sadness for Starscream in the back of my head. Who would pay their respects to him when he died?

I shook my head to clear those thoughts out. This was about Red Alert, not him!

"You're going down, Sideways." I muttered bitterly as my friend's body and his weeping Mini-Con were taken away. But the question was, how?

Little did we know the dream-like sequence was going to be torn to shreds and replaced with harsh reality not too long afterwards.


	18. Chapter 18

Oh man, it's been a while since I updated this! Sorry, guys! The story's really going to pick up now. The hardest parts of writing this were making the kids' testimonies. I couldn't name off all of the officers becase I also wanted the readers to add some Autobot officials that they personally like into the line. I had to make Scavenger Optimus's third in command because even though Optimus wants Hot Shot to be leader after he passes on, Hot Shot is far too inexperienced to be approved of by the other officers. I'm sorry if I use Lynn's death too often in this plot. Ugh! I wish this text didn't look so choppy! I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

After Scavenger and Jetfire returned from taking Red Alert's body to his room, which was serving as his temporary morgue, Ultra Magnus let out a sigh, composed himself, and then said to Optimus, "Now is the time to make your decisions."

Reluctantly, he nodded. "I only wish the circumstances were different. It feels wrong to suddenly replace Red Alert so soon."

"But they are not. With all due respect sir, time is ticking away, and we still have three issues to deal with."

As "three issues" came out of Prowl's mouth, I felt like someone had jabbed a sharp stick in my side. We were considered an issue to these guys. Ouch.

"Issue? Primus, give the kids a break!" Jetfire yelled angrily.

Hot Shot and Sideswipe looked ready to chime in, but Optimus stopped them with a hand.

"Sir, if I may make a suggestion, perhaps it would be more prudent if we allowed the humans to give their testimony?" Prowl asked Ultra Magnus.

My eyes widened, and I clasped my hands together, yelling, "Just give us this one chance!"

"Pleeeease?" Billy and Fred begged.

"We'll be really quick, promise!" Carlos added.

"We won't let you down!" Rad called.

"How would this be prudent, Prowl?" Magnus asked, raising an optic ridge. I felt my hopes fall a little.

Prowl pointed at Optimus and the others. "Less dissension between our two main leaders, which we have no time for."

Ultra Magnus looked ready to ask another question, but decided against it, shaking his head. "Fine, they may speak for themselves, but it must be brisk, for Optimus still needs to choose a new medic and third in command. Prowl, get the other officers. They must be here to hear this."

With a nod, he left.

"Man, Prowl sure has a way with words." Carlos commented with a whistle.

Blurr chuckled. "Not exactly. He's actually the most logical Autobot we have, so it would be suicide not to listen to him."

"Oh, okay."

"I can't believe we're going to see all of the officers!" Fred whispered excitedly.

Billy punched him. "We're only seeing them because of what Sideways did, doofus!"

"I know that! I just think it'll be kinda cool, that's all!" Fred retorted.

I shook my head, looking away.

I raised it when I heard someone walking toward us.

"I think these Mini-Cons are yours?" Ultra Magnus asked gently, holding out Highwire, Grindor, and Sureshock.

They clambered onto Sideswipe's hand, which was positioned next to the one we were still on.

"Wow, thanks man!" Carlos exclaimed, running over to Grindor.

"They seem to be very attached to you three." The leader observed, watching us for a few moments.

"Yeah, they're really good friends to us. They help us when things get tough and are always there to talk to." I replied from where I stood near Sureshock.

"That's different." he murmured, then walked over to where Optimus was standing.

Billy snorted. "That was weird."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Carlos added.

"Hey guys, knock it off! If he hears you, he won't let us speak!" Rad cautioned.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Hot Shot comforted, "It wouldn't be the first time someone said something about him."

"Like you, for instance?" Hoist asked with a smirk as he joined us.

Hot Shot blushed. "Um, let's not get into that, okay?"

"Come on bro, you can tell us." Sideswipe encouraged, trying to find something to help lighten the mood.

"Yeah, spill it, Hot Shot!" Carlos chimed in.

I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh as our big yellow friend squirmed under our stares.

"You guys might want to pay attention." Scavenger broke in.

Carlos let out a whistle, Rad stared in awe with his mouth hanging open, Billy muttered something under his breath, Fred whispered over and over how amazing this was, and I let out a gasp at seeing all of them together.

Hot Shot, Hoist, and Sideswipe took turns naming them off for us.

"That big red mech right there, he's called Ironhide, Ultra Magnus's right-hand man on Cybertron. Trust me, you don't wanna mess with him. Prowl's the third in command because of his logic, and he's the security officer as well." Hot Shot explained to us in a slightly nervous tone. I couldn't blame him. I remembered when I first saw Ironhide after getting off the Axalon, I shrank back a little.

"And see that blue femme next to him? She's Chromia, his mate, who heads the other femmes. She took over after..." Sideswipe hesitated, dropping his voice, "After Optimus's mate, Elita-One, was captured."

"WH-" Billy had to clamp a hand over Fred's mouth to stop his loud yelling.

"He never told us he had a mate!" I whispered, clearly taken aback.

"Yeah, why'd he keep it a secret?" Carlos pressed, being sure to keep his voice down.

"He just didn't want to talk about it. It's too painful a story." Sideswipe quietly replied in a sad tone.

"We don't even know if she's still alive," Hot Shot informed with a sigh, lowering his head,

"Chormia's taken it the hardest because Elita was with her when it happened. She couldn't have done anything about it, though, since Shockwave had been holding her down."

"Shockwave?" Rad asked.

"Megatron's yes-mech. Nastiest fragger you will ever meet." Hoist muttered.

Rad shook his head. "That's terrible."

We all agreed with him.

I looked over Optimus, who was looking his officers, including Jetfire, Blurr, and Ratchet, who turned out to be the medical officer, over. I thought I saw something pass through his optics when he saw Chromia, who nodded to him, her face like stone.

I couldn't imagine what it was like to have that kind of sadness gnawing inside, and always having to hide it. I didn't think I ever could.

"Something troubles you, Alexis?" Sureshock broke me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see everyone now looking at me. Realizing my hands were clasped together, I dropped them.

Rad pointed out the officers I'd missed, such as Blaster, the communications officer, and Jazz, who was a lieutenant.

"See him over there?" Hot Shot pointed to an arrogant, purple mech, and continued in a bitter tone, "He kept me from going back for Wheeljack."

"What an asshole." Carlos whispered.

Rad and I nodded.

"You all know why we have called you here." Ultra Magnus began as Optimus finished his brief inspection.

The officers saluted, saying, "May Primus bless Red Alert's spark."

The two leaders echoed the salute and prayer, then Ultra Magnus turned to Optimus. "Please reveal to us your choice for your new third in command."

Optimus nodded.

Each of us held our breaths as he scanned the room. His gaze rested on one mech, who he in turn beckoned forward. "Scavenger."

Words began to rise up between the officers, but Ultra Magnus silence them with a wave of his hand.

"Normally, discussion over the candidate is allowed, but time is currently restraining us from doing so. Officers, I say yes to Optimus's decision. Who of you do as well?"

"Why are the others taking a vote? I thought Optimus and Magnus were two head honchos." Carlos asked.

"They are, but they also need to know their decision has backing to it, since the officers represent the soldiers. They can still go with their choice if the vote is not in its favor, but they run the risk of becoming unpopular." Hoist explained softly.

My eyes widened. "Their government's not too different from ours." I whispered excitedly to Rad, who nodded.

Over half of the officers' hands were in the air.

Ultra Magnus nodded. "It is done."

The hands went back down.

Scavenger knelt down before Optimus, who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You have proven yourself worthy of this title through your strength, cunning, and above all, loyalty. Stand, my friend, and take your place in line." Optimus proclaimed in tone filled with pride.

Scavenger did so with a solemn face. Smiling would have been inappropriate.

"Now, who have you chosen to be your new medic?"

Optimus beckoned another mech forward. "Ratchet."

After hesitating for a moment, Ultra Magnus reluctantly agreed, but also warned, "Be careful with him, Optimus. I do not want to risk losing our medical officer as well."

Ratchet bristled at this for some reason, and Optimus replied coolly, "Don't forget, Ultra Magnus. First-Aid can always fill in for him."

"Why's Ultra Magnus knocking this First-Aid guy?" Fred asked.

"He's not. It's just that Ratchet is the best medical officer we've had in a long time. He mentored Red Alert." Sideswipe whispered.

Fewer hands went up this time, but the vote was still cast in the leaders' favor.

Now it was Ratchet's turn to kneel.

"Through your tireless energy, selflessness, and determination, you have obtained this position. From now on until circumstances pervade, you are to remain with my squad. Understood?"

Nodding, the new medic got up, heading back to his original place.

This time, Optimus took over the topic introduction.

My heart was pounding in my ears as he announced, "It's time to attend to our latest problem. We all know of the treaty that we made in order to keep the humans safe. Sideways has now caused that to be broken. Prowl has suggested to Ultra Magnus and me that the humans defend their cause. Each person will have only one statement to make, and then Ultra Magnus and I will make our decision, leaving all of you to make yours. If the votes are cast in the humans' favor, they will join the battle with us," he paused, then added painfully, casting his gaze at us, "But I cannot guarantee we will always be there to protect them."

"Don't worry about us, Optimus!" Carlos yelled.

"However, if the votes are not cast in their favor, they will be sent back to the base on this ship."

The officers nodded, though half looked ready to burst out what they wanted to say about us.

As for us, we were really nervous. One statement? What could we say?

"Rad, you'll be first." Optimus ordered in a soft tone.

"You can do this, amigo!" Carlos exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"Yeah, show him who's boss!" Billy added.

"You can do it! I know you can!" Fred encouraged.

"Good luck." I whispered.

"You got this, buddy." Hot Shot said, ruffling his hair with a finger.

"Don't let 'em get to ya. A lot of the officers are really nice when you get to know them." Sideswipe reassured.

Hoist, having none of us in either hand, let Rad climb on, with Highwire trailing just behind him.

"You ready?" Hoist asked.

Rad smiled and waved at us as he was carried away. We waved back.

Slowly, Rad faced the officers after his carrier had stopped walking. He was a few inches from Optimus, who watched him intently.

Highwire gripped his partner's shoulder tightly as he spoke.

"I wouldn't've left my home world and safety of my parents if I didn't seriously care about all of you." he said with sadness in his voice.

No one in his audience stirred, but Carlos grinned broadly, Billy and Fred whispered, "Yes!", Grindor and Sureshock let out excited beeps, Hot Shot and Sideswipe both held a thumb up, and I felt a warm smile on my face. Rad had poured his heart out.

"Carlos, you're next."

"Don't worry, just say what you're thinking of." Rad advised.

"Yeah, listen to Rad." Billy said, with Fred nodding like a bobble head next to him.

"If he can do it, you can." I added.

"Hang in there." Hot Shot murmured as Carlos and Grindor were taken away.

"Don't worry about him, bro. He'll be fine."

I saw Hoist run a thumb over Carlos's back before he made it to the center of the room.

Grindor put an arm around Carlos, who declared, "We've been helping to make the Mini-Cons free, and I don't wanna stop now!"

As the others congratulated him, I felt butterflies in my stomach as Optimus called to me.

"Alexis, this'll be a no-brainer for you. You always get A's on presentations in school." Carlos cheered me.

"Plus, who wouldn't like a girl as pretty as you?" Billy joked.

He got a punch to the gut for that.

"You can totally handle this!" Fred gushed.

"It'll be okay, don't worry." Rad comforted as I climbed onto Hoist's hand with Sureshock in tow.

"Go get 'em!" Hot Shot called.

"Come on, Alexis!" Sideswipe added.

I looked at each officer we passed as Hoist carried me, offering his own helpful words. I saw Jetfire and Blurr, remaining uniformly silent, their optics directing comfort at me.

"Alexis?"

I turned to look at Sureshock, who had her arms open. I pushed myself into them, whispering, "Thanks."

As I drew out, we stopped moving. I cleared my throat, feeling Sureshock's arm slide around mine.

I stole a glance at Optimus, his gold optics warming me as if he too had hugged me. Suddenly, I knew what to say.

"I was helpless to prevent my mother's dying when I was young, and I won't stand on the sidelines and watch my friends suffer the same fate when I can do something about it."

Everything after that up to the decision was a blur. I can only remember being congratulated and Billy and Fred's testimonies.

"The Decepticons almost killed one of my friends, and I'm not going to let them get away with it!" Billy exclaimed passionately.

"I wanna help you guys end this for good!" Fred cried out.

The bridge was utterly silent, save the humming sounds coming from the computers. Fred and Billy clung to each other on Hot Shot's hand, while Rad, Carlos, and I clung to our Mini-Cons on Sideswipe's.

Optimus was the first to speak. "Though I'd rather not place my human friends in danger, I cannot deny their resolve. I say yes." His voice was laced with emotion. I could tell part of him really didn't want us to go.

Then Ultra Magnus spoke. "They may become a weakness in battle as well, let alone the fact that they are not full Autobots in any sense. However, after what I saw between them and their Mini-Cons, I understand now that they mean what they say when they pledge to help us free their race. I say yes as well."

The murmuring among the officers grew again, so much so that it took both leaders to get them to settle down. At last, the vote was taken.

I felt Rad squeeze my hand. Both Sideswipe's and Hot Shot's hands were shaking. Hoist's left hand was clenched into a shaking fist in front of his optics, which were now offline.

Jetfire's, Blurr's, and Scavenger's hands were up first, followed by Ratchet's and Jazz's. Five other hands were raised, with four more close behind. Blaster's soon joined them.

I gritted my teeth. We were at the halfway mark. All we needed was one more.

Ironhide and Chromia hadn't budged, neither had the jerky officer Hot Shot had pointed out, nor Prowl, nor the other officers.

Suddenly, a white hand was raised. It was Prowl's.

We could barely contain ourselves as Optimus and Ultra Magnus declared the resolve official.

Once the officers were dispersed, some of them throwing suspicious glances our way, we jumped up and down, crying out in happiness. Carlos even picked up Grindor and swung him around in a quick circle.

Optimus came over to us with Jetfire, Blurr, Ratchet, and Scavenger not too far behind.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" we screamed.

He chuckled. "Don't thank us, kids. It was you and your Mini-Cons."

Jetfire laughed. "Come on, Optimus. I saw how long it took for you to crack."

He gave him a warning look, which shut him up.

Scavenger shook his head. "With all due respect, you need to calm down. There won't be any time for that on the battlefield."

"Ain't that the truth," Blurr muttered cynically, "Well, looks like it's time for me to take Red Alert back home."

"Actually, I was wondering if I could do it," Hoist chimed in, "I owe it to him, and you guys need Blurr's skills more than mine."

Optimus nodded. "Very well."

Ratchet raised an optic ridge. "Who are you, soldier?"

With a salute, he replied, "Hoist, sir. I used to be Smokescreen until Megatron destroyed my body. Red Alert built me a new one."

Ratchet's smile was sad. "I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"You've gotta be proud of Red Alert for that." Hot Shot declared.

"More than you know." he replied, walking off with Scavenger.

Blurr turned to Hoist. "All right, time to teach you the controls. If I find a single scratch on the Axalon when I get back, your aft is mine, got it?"

We broke into laughter.

That was when Ultra Magnus clambered back onto the ship. "Are you coming? We need to move out as soon as we can."

I felt my breath stop in my throat. It was time.


	19. Chapter 19

We lose someone else in this chapter. What is unexplained in this one will be explained in the next and later chapters. As to the identity of the rival bounty hunter, you'll just have to read and figure it out yourself. Blurr says Sideways's name used to be Doubleface because A) He needed to change his identity to make him an unknown during the war, and B) That's Sideways's name in the Japanese version of Transformers Armada. I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

We felt the near-silence like a crushing blow as the Autobots headed for the battleground.

I was sitting on Hot Shot's right shoulder with Sureshock beside me, while Rad, Carlos, Grindor, and Highwire took the left. Sideswipe, who was on the yellow mech's left, bore Fred and Billy on his left shoulder.

We easily grasped how dire the situation was when even these two couldn't crack a joke. Hot Shot's normally grinning mouth was set in a hard line, and Sideswipe's expression had become calculating.

In front of us were Hot Rod and a pink femme Hot Shot had said was named Arcee on his right. Flanking her right was a green mech called Springer. We'd been told by our yellow friend that although three were a good team together, the two mechs each had their interests in Arcee. And apparently she'd been trying her best to ignore them. As I noticed Hot Rod subtly squeezing Arcee's hand, I was bitterly reminded of the nasty little battle Starscream and Rad had had over me.

On Hot Shot's right was Bumblebee, who gave me a reassuring smile whenever I turned to look at him.

Behind us, Bluestreak and Grapple trotted along, trying to keep pace, Bluestreak whispering excitedly to him the whole time.

After them came multiple mechs and femmes alike, all of whom I did not know. I owed a bunch of them, though, and the same went for those that were moving ahead of us, all the way up to the officers on the front line.

XXXXXX

Yells of excitement thundered in our com links almost immediately as we were carried out of the Axalon to face what seemed like a sea of metal. Then again, that was from a human's perspective. It must've been sad to see it as a transformer, since the numbers had basically disintegrated overnight.

The shouts were silenced by Ultra Magnus. "We have our resolutions. Scavenger will now be the third-in-command under Optimus Prime," he paused for the soldiers to yell their congratulations and then continued, "Ratchet will be the new medic for Optimus's personal squad," he paused again, following the same routine, and issued out his final statement, "And the humans will be fighting alongside us."

This time, the reception was mixed, and at first, it nearly gave as heart attacks.

Cries of protest from the crowd of soldiers immediately sprang up, making us worry about what the officers would say.

Hot Shot and Sideswipe looked ready to fight those who were yelling, and we weren't too far behind them on that.

But just as they had started, cheers for us (the loudest from the Autobots that we had met on Cybertron and became friendly with) came, overtaking the protests for a moment and sparing us from Ultra Magnus having to reconsider his decision.

Ultra Magnus nodded to Optimus, who returned the motion.

Rad raised an eyebrow, and I asked Hot Shot, "What's going on?"

"He's letting Optimus have his turn" he replied as the original leader called out for silence.

Once he had everyone's attention, Optimus began to speak. "All of you have wanted to reclaim your homes and achieve retribution for the unspeakable crimes the Decepticons have caused in the past. I sorry to say I was not able to prevent those atrocities from occurring, but I can promise you this if you can pledge the same," he paused for a moment to activate the Star Saber, which we had brought with us to even out the odds against the Decepticons' Requiem Blaster.

The Skyboom Shield along with the other Mini-Cons we had picked up on Earth were back at the Autobot base not only for safe keeping, but to prevent the Hydra Cannon from going off and destroying everyone during the battle. I felt chills just thinking about it.

As I watched the Saber's blue light blaze from where my leader held it over his head, its point extended toward the heavens above, I thought I was looking at one of the dragon-slaying heroes from my childhood storybooks. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I saw the passion to protect his soldiers, or rather, his children, burning in his golden optics.

We held our silence, but just barely, as we waited for him to continue. The air was filled with intensity, and everyone one of us, including the Mini-Cons and even the officers, was beginning to fidget with impatience. I felt the blood roaring in my ears as I gripped Sureshock's vibrating shoulder.

At last, he declared in a fearless tone, "I'm only going to live in a free world!"

He had only said seven words, but that was more than enough to make us explode with zeal.

The yells of agreement, excitement, and utter release erupted from every known place. I found myself standing next to Sureshock on Hot Shot's shoulder, with the guys and the other Mini-Cons doing the same thing as we screamed our brains out, our carriers their friends and family and their friends and family doing the same.

It was only until later that I realized the one who that declaration really applied to hadn't been there.

My ears felt as if there were knives wedged in them from the com link's extreme noise, Optimus somehow managing to shove the message to move out through the pandemonium.

We had to sit down as Hot Shot ran to catch up with Bumblebee, Sideswipe not too far behind, causing both to jostle Rad, Highwire, Sureshock, Grindor, Carlos, Fred, Billy, and me.

Blurr's car form, currently linked with Incinerator streaked high above the crowd and landed up front with the other officers.

Rad, Carlos, and I exchanged glances and turned to see the Axalon lift off the ground, do a 360, and head back to the underground base, with Hoist doing a pretty good job of steering. There was truly no turning back for us.

XXXXXX

"Alexis?"

I raised my head at Rad's voice. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

I wanted to tell him that yes, I was, but my body didn't listen to my brain. Instead, I simply shrugged and replied, "I guess so."

"That's kind how we're all feeling right now." Hot Shot reassured me.

I smiled at him and turned my attention back to Rad. "Why're you asking?"

He let out a sigh and looked at Highwire for help.

Carlos's chuckle came over the com link. "You're a natural Shakespeare, amigo!"

I gave him a warning look, and he shut up. It just wasn't the time to be joking around, not when there were others who were taking this situation to heart, or rather, spark. If we said anything out-of-turn, it would be it for us.

Our com link network only went so far, but it was enough. We were on the public frequency, with was shared by both Autobots and Decepticons. It was sort of like Internet. This was set up because the outside areas of Cybertron didn't have any air, so sound couldn't move. How well we heard one another depended upon how close together we were, and we were currently around a bunch of battle-ready Autobots that could easily send us flying if we acted up. Too bad we didn't have a private channel, but those were for the officers.

Rad looked away from Highwire toward the structural remains of Autobot outpost on the horizon. Truth to be told, they still sometimes pop up in my nightmares, their cold, skeleton-like appearances and hidden threat of Decepticons making my heart sink in fear.

Finally, he muttered, "I just don't wanna lose any of you guys, that's all."

Before any of us could react to what he had said, an authoritative voice yelled over our com links, "Weapons out! Line up!"

Looking up, I saw Ironhide trudge past us without a glance at us humans, repeating the order as he continued on his way.

As Hot Shot got into position next to Sideswipe, which turned out to be behind a bluff of metal (the outpost was uphill, which really sucked for our side), he whispered to Rad, "Just worry about now, okay?"

"Yeah, do that and you're fine!" I chimed in.

As Highwire gave Rad a reassuring nod, the silence went from heavy to thick with impatience.

I couldn't see a single Decepticon, but I knew they were hiding, waiting to take lovely little potshots at us.

My thoughts raced. Maybe the Autobots that had been there were still alive, but were taken prisoner. Maybe there was still a chance to save them! Maybe...

Hot Shot's fingers tapped against his knee. "Come on, come on! How much longer?!"

"Relax bro, it's only been five minutes."

"Five minutes too long! What're we waiting for?!"

Other whispers in my com link caused me to scan the nearby troops.

All of them were showing signs of unease, some tapping their handheld weapons against their arms, others flicking their gazes this way and that, and still others seemed to be saying good-bye to one another.

We'd separated from the others, having learned from the bomb-throwing psychopath that had taken out most of the Autobots.

I saw Hot Rod, Arcee, and Springer huddled together a distance away, Springer checking his firearm while an annoyed Arcee hit Hot Rod on the arm, making him give her a reproachful look.

Bluestreak was crouched near a green mech with a cannon over his right shoulder, and appeared to be in a conversation with him and a blue-and-white mech on the green's opposite side, who was gesturing toward the green's right leg, currently facing a weird angle, with a look of worry on his face. The green one in turn was trying to reassure them, but to no avail. Uh-oh. A messed-up leg was a pain in the butt on a normal day, and in battle, well...

Bumblebee was crouched on the ground next to a red mech of his exact size and build. I wondered if they were related. While Bumblebee had a hopeful smile on his face as he waited patiently, the other was a contrast. He was tapping his gun against his side, all the while bearing an angry frown.

Grapple was nervously rubbing the gun he had as a left hand with his right from where he crouched. He was probably worried about whether or not he was going to be seeing his friend again after the dust finally did settle. Next to him was a massive black mech with blue visor, who was kneeling on the ground and looking ahead with a solemn expression on his face.

Up where the officers were, Ratchet was speaking to a younger red-and-white mech with a blue visor, who was fidgeting. I guessed that he must have been First Aid, the medic they were using as a fill-in.

Scavenger and Blurr were having a quiet conversation, their heads bowed.

Jetfire was kneeling down with a red mech, his head almost the exact same shape as Thrust's. Jetfire was making sure his back faced the rock they were near. The red mech was holding the hand of a green femme next to him. The couple was raring to go, both of them basically vibrating with movement. Jetfire, on the other hand, was still so as not to bang against the rock and injure himself more.

Jazz nudged Prowl, who was sitting next to him, checking his gun. He made a "You ready?" gesture, to which the other gave a curt nod.

Blaster was crouched with a rather large green mech, the two of which were trying to control their excitement. The green one was switching positions every few seconds, while Blaster was tapping his fingers to a beat in his head.

Chromia was kneeling next to Ironhide, stroking her tightly clenched gun as if it was a pet, a glare on her face. Ironhide placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. She looked up at him, and something wordlessly passed between them. Ironhide's face was no longer hard-set. Instead, it showed only concern for her. Chromia's glare softened, and he pulled her in for a hug. Watching them do so made me feel like I was intruding on them, not to mention a little jealous, so I turned my gaze away.

At the very front, Optimus and Ultra Magnus hid beneath an outcropping directly below the buildings. Their faces were turned away from us to look up at their target, calculating their moves. They seemed so much like that I was wondering if they were brothers.

It was right then that each turned toward us, halting everyone's movements immediately. Each raised an arm, Optimus on the left and Ultra Magnus on the right, beckoning us forward.

Not needing a verbal command, the Autobots half-rose, heading toward the battlefield in a crawl, making it harder to be seen.

My heart thumped in my ears, seeming to keep time with each inch Optimus gained as he came from around the overhang. He and Magnus would be the first to take the shots. I didn't want to lose him...As much as I wanted to look away, my eyes were glued to his form as Hot Shot crept toward it at a painfully slow pace. Sureshock's hand gripped my right shoulder, threatening to cut off the circulation to it.

My breath caught as he cleared it, taking his time as he went along, for he was a quarter of the way to the buildings, their skeletons casting eerie, bar-like shadows on him.

That was when the first shot was fired.

I heard myself, the guys, and the Mini-Cons lets out cries of surprise as Hot Shot and Sideswipe jolted into action (nearly bucking us off, might I add), time suddenly being thrown into a hasty blur as the Autobots literally leaped into battle mode.

War cries and distant screams of pain rang in my ears as we pounded as one toward the quarry, who was now spilling out of the nooks and crannies of the buildings and popping up from underground.

Optimus, Magnus, and the ground-bound officers already had their hands full with the Decepticon army, while Jetfire, his friend, and a few others took to the skies to fight the numerous bad guys up there, Blurr's sniper rifle shot them down.

I held my breath as Hot Shot scrambled up the slope, nearly bringing down another Autobot on the way.

After he shoved his way through a few more of our troops, yelling at them to move, I let it out. We were now in the battle.  
It was completely chaotic.

Unlike battles on Earth, where most soldiers had uniforms, this one on Cybertron was a giant color splash. And the noise...Oh dear God...

Rad, Carlos, Grindor, Highwire, Sureshock, and I clung to Hot Shot as he pounced on a skinny black Decepticon, easily knocking him down. The two struggled briefly, and we cringed at the Decepticon's molten red optics that seemed to burn into us. Sureshock clung to me as I ducked my head, my teeth gritted, not wanting to look as cuss words and grunts from both mechs slammed my ear drums.

Then, with an ear-splitting shot, it was done.

Hot Shot got up off the ground, asking us gently, "You guys okay?"

"Define okay." Carlos muttered.

I was wondering how my dad had dealt with this chaos on a daily basis.

I forced my head to stay level, not daring to look down at the mess below as Hot Shot took off again.

We'd lost track of Sideswipe and the others, much to our fast-growing worry.

I felt as if I was a statue, bracing myself for whatever disgusting discovery would fall past my vision.

I reflexively snapped my eyes shut as a mech with a bleeding optic was thrown past us, much too quickly for us to know if he was an Autobot or Decepticon. Still, the image was burned in my retinas.

Less than five minutes in, and I was already scared out of my wits. I could already feel the color draining from my face.

"HEY!" Hot Shot's enraged shout forced my eyes open again. I had never heard him sound that angry before.

"What's g-"

"Sideways is right over there!" Rad snapped as we were swept toward the monster, who was currently inching his way toward Optimus and Galvatron clad in colors that reflected his dark soul, locked in a brawl, murder gleaming in their optics.

They circled one another carefully in the eye of the storm of warriors. Galvatron brandished the Requiem Blaster while Optimus wielded the Star Saber.

Sideways crept carefully through the storm, crouched low and attracting no attention to himself, his hands outstretched toward the two, who obliviously kept on fighting.

"He's going to do something!" Carlos exclaimed.

"Not on my watch!" Hot Shot declared, barreling through the fighters with a few grunts and groans of pain here and there, leaving us to cling to him for dear life.

I cried out in fear as Sideways's hand gripped the Star Saber in Optimus's hand, jerking him to a halt. Our leader looked down at him with an incredulous expression, which quickly changed to anger.

Galvatron threw back his head and laughed, taking advantage of his distraction by lining up the Blaster, which was in turn latched onto and jerked upwards by Sideways's other hand, its attached arm seeming to extend to three times its length.

Sideways's body suddenly started lose density, indicating that he was about to teleport, while the two leaders tried in vain to wrench their weapons free.

That was when Hot Shot bowled him over, causing his grip to be lost. Two other bodies smacked into them, causing all of us to groan in agony.

In that same instant, my body seemed to lift, as if being carried away, along with Hot Shot's, Sureshock's, and the others I could feel. I knew what was happening: Sideways was taking us on an uncharted course.

XXXXXX

It had only lasted for a few moments, but everything had become dramatically altered in that short amount of time.

First of all, no sound came. It was like someone had hit the mute button on a remote. Personally, I didn't know what was worse: the screams of bloodlust in the war zone or the crushing silence in wherever-this-was.

"What did you do?!"

I tensed at Wheeljack's voice, feeling Sureshock do the same. Highwire and Grindor let out cries of fear, while Rad and Carlos gasped.

"What're you doing here?!" Hot Shot yelled.

"I could ask you the same thing." Wheeljack replied coyly.

I peeked up to see him heaving himself to his feet to lean against an orange wall, which blue metal was sitting under.

That metal was stirring, and it yelled, "Keep Sideways down! We can't let him get away now!"

"Blurr?!" we yelled in surprise (save for Sideways).

"Shut up and listen!" A predatory tone had entered his voice, sending a shiver down my spine. What was going on?

A dark laugh came from below us. "Still trying to outwit me?"

Hot Shot let out a cry as he hit the floor from Sideways rolling over.

"Hey, watch it, jerk!" Carlos yelled indignantly.

Hot Shot quickly got up, pointing his gun down at the traitor, which Wheeljack was already doing. "Go on, I dare you try something funny."

A mocking glint was in Sideways's optics from where he was sitting up. Blurr clung to him, trying to force him down.

"I really want to see you try."

With a mighty heave, he pushed Blurr off of him, who in turn skidded to a stop at Hot Shot and Wheeljack's feet. Luckily, Wheeljack was too intent on Sideways to fire at Blurr.

"What the heck was that creepy tone for, dude? You sounded just like Sideways." Carlos demanded as Blurr got up.

Sideways let out a laugh, getting to his feet as well, the two guns following him. "I see you haven't told them yet."

"What's he talking about Blurr?" Rad asked.

Instead of answering, he ordered, "Hot Shot, Wheeljack, lower your weapons."

"And let him get away? Are you crazy?!" Hot Shot yelled.

"Since when do I take orders from you?" Wheeljack growled.

"JUST DO IT!" his fuming voice seemed to shake the "room" we were in.

The two guns dropped immediately, and Blurr drew his sniper rifle, stepping slowly toward Sideways, who had his arms folded, the mocking glint still there.

My gaze quickly swept the area. The walls, ceiling, and floor were are all pure orange and cracked like a cliff face back on Earth, but something seemed off about it, something I wasn't willing to find out. No matter how much like home it looked, I definitely wasn't taking my helmet off.

When I looked back, the rifle was an inch from Sideways, who in turn smacked it away with a hand, stating in a bored tone, "You haven't changed a bit, little brother. You always hide behind something."

"BROTHER?!" we yelled in unison.

Our enemy chuckled. "He didn't tell you? Then again, that's to be expected of a coward like him,"

"Shut up!" Blurr's venom-filled words accompanied a fist, which Sideways caught, spinning him around to face us. His other hand slid up to Blurr's neck, the barrel of his gun sticking directly into it.

"Tell them, Brother. They'll want to know now." he whispered in a bullying tone. It vaguely reminded me of my sister bossing me around, but of course not to that extreme.

The sniper struggled, his Mini-Con beeping angrily at Sideways, but he reluctantly conceded. "Sideways is telling the truth. We're both the sons of Devcon, though he certainly doesn't deserve his title anymore." His optics pulsed with rage as he finished his statement.

I felt immediately betrayed. Why did he hide that from us? I knew he was a loner, but I'd thought he'd learned to trust us. Hot Shot's reaction proved he didn't know of that, either. I wondered if he'd told Scavenger or Optimus, but that stopped that thought at once. At the same time, I felt what Fred and Billy had overheard from before click into place inside my mind.

"You mean that berth-ridden bounty hunter?" Wheeljack asked.

"Don't you dare talk about him that way!" Blurr snapped, trying to break free and hit the Decepticon.

"You're in no position to tell him what he can or can't do, little brother. After all, it is very fitting."

"That's because you did that to him!"

Sideways let out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh dear, I may have banged up our greedy, sinful father. Need I remind you what happened to our mother because of him?"

"Enough!" Blurr yelled in vain, trying to wrench himself free.

I felt sinking feeling form in the pit of my stomach.

"You were there, Blurr. You know better than I do. In fact, you can tell the story yourself." Sideways sharply prodded the officer in the neck as the words oozed out.

"Frag off, Sideways!" Hot Shot yelled, but it was no use.

All of the confidence, the hard loner's exterior, the strength and experience that Blurr had obtained, crumbled to bits with another sharp prod from Sideways.

Incinerator was screaming obscenities at Sideways, while we threatened him to leave Blurr alone or suffer dire consequences. Even Wheeljack was getting in on it by ordering the traitor to go to the Pit.

A surprisingly choked-up voice broke our offense. "No. I won't!"

"Then would you like me to take your precious Mini-Con away? Don't bother telling him to escape, little sparkling. It won't be of any use."

"NO!"

"Then tell them now!" A third prod jerked Blurr's entire body to the side.

I stared at his now sorrow-filled red optics, glistening with energon tears.

My fist clenched at my side. How dare Sideways do this?! And to his own family?!

"I was a sparkling then. Father had taken Sideways, then called Doubleface, to train him. A rival bounty hunter appeared at our home. Mother told me to run and not look back while she held him off. I heard a loud slashing noise, and her shriek of agony. Oh, Primus..."

I found myself wishing that this was a nightmare. It killed me to see Blurr so broken, with nothing we could do about it. Sideways was such a freak!

"Well, I think it's about time we end your suffering, little brother. And don't worry, Devcon will join you soon enough."

"NOOOO!" we screamed, charging toward them as two consecutive blasts went off, the nightmarish spell broken.

Sideways feel to the floor, taking Blurr down with him. Incinerator had leapt down to Blurr's hand, and was now scurrying up to his face.

I looked, and immediately regretted it.

Sideways's face was completely smashed, having been blown apart by Blurr's rifle, positioned directly under his chin. Energon was gushing from it onto the floor. Blurr was breathing heavily. Sideways's had been hit first, causing his alignment to get messed up. The shot had still grazed an important part of our friend's neck, so he was simply going to live a tiny bit longer. Energon spewed onto his brother in a sickening fashion.

Hot Shot knelt down, taking Blurr's head in his lap.

Carlos, Rad, and I called to him that it would be okay, while Wheeljack shook his head, kicking Sideways in disgust. Our Mini-Cons leapt together and formed Perceptor, who ran down Hot Shot's arm to comfort Incinerator, who was in tears. Hot Shot had tears of his own falling, and he whispered, "I'm sorry for being so horrible toward you."

"Doesn't...matter now." Blurr wheezed, sounding more like himself, "Hot Shot...He won't stay...dead...Take...my rifle...You'll...You'll need it."

Nodding, he reached over and grabbed it.

"Take Incinerator..."

Perceptor ushered the Mini-Con up to us after he had said his tearful good-bye, complete with throwing his little arms around one of the orange pipes adorning Blurr's helmet.

"Now...get your afts...back to the war. I'll be damned to...hear we lost..." With an effort, he whispered his last words to us.

Blurr's red optics dimmed and then faded. His body then lost its color, fading to a dull gray while Sideways's remained bright.

We cried as Hot Shot got up, saluting him. Wheeljack watched for a moment, and then slowly did the same.

I thought back on how far Blurr had come from an introverted loner to a friend, and realized that he hadn't meant to hide stuff from us, but he had wanted to keep his personal battle to himself so things wouldn't've become complicated. Sadly, his efforts had achieved him nothing.


	20. Chapter 20

This chapter took a long time to write because it was hard to do. Basically, when Sideways shoots at the kids, it's a re-imagining of the scene when Starscream is destroyed by the Requiem Blaster in Transformers Armada. If the kids die while on Cybertron, the transformers' cover will be blown, giving the human governments an opportunity to do experiments on them. As for the premonition of Starscream's death, keep that in the back of your head until later. Right now, all it accomplishes is it gives Alexis a sense of purpose with her pendant.  
The hardest scene to write here was Alexis speaking with her mother. Remember how Rad went back to when he was a little kid in the past when Perceptor froze time in Transformers Armada? This is what Alexis sees. Now, the reason why her mother helps to fix the pendant up is because she is actually advising Alexis on how to have a working relationship with Starscream, as well as giving her own blessing to the two being together. Alexis oftentimes looked to her mom for support as a kid in my fic, so I had to use Lynn in here. Believe it or not, I was inspired by about two things when it came to the scene between Alexis and Lynn. The first was the song "I Want A Mom" by Cyndi Lauper, which plays during The Rugrats In Paris while Chucky feels lonesome because the other kids have mothers but he doesn't. The other source of inspiration was a scene from Fatal Frame 3 in which a young girl named Miku chases after the ghost of her brother, Mafuyu, despite the fact that her friend, Rei, calls to her that he is already dead. It's the most touching scene from any video game I've played. Okay, time to put this up. Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.

-Alexis's POV-

To say we were lost was an understatement. We had just witnessed the death of one of our friends, we had no idea where we were or how to get back to where we were supposed to be, and we had no clue as to how those that were back on the battlefield were holding up.

Hot Shot stayed rooted to the spot, emotion flickering on his face as he stared down at Blurr's body for a few moments more. Suddenly, he knelt down, making us let out a cry at the sudden drop.

"Hot Shot, what're you doing?" Wheeljack asked icily from where he stood over the unconscious Sideways, his gun pointed down at him.

"I'm not leaving him behind." our friend replied in a bold tone, sliding his arms under his comrade's limp body. We let out a cheer as he stood with a grunt, holding the sniper aloft. Incinerator enthusiastically beeped a round of thank-yous.

I locked my eyes the Decepticon warrior, my heart pounding in my ears and sweat sliding down my neck as I anticipated what he was going to do. Strangely, his face was impassive. We all knew that Wheeljack had blamed Hot Shot for being left behind and later captured while he was still an Autobot, as well as the fact that he was too stubborn to realize that it had not been his fault at all. He had once made an attempt on Hot Shot's life, and nearly succeeded, had Sideswipe not found him before the shot had stopped his spark. And now that his target was going back for someone else right before his optics, I couldn't even bring myself to imagine what could happen next. I swear I could feel the electricity crackling between the two mechs. Not a word passed from any of our mouths. Then again, I probably never could have heard any over my thunderous pulse.

The paralysis of the moment was shattered not by Wheeljack, but by Sideways, who took advantage of the Decepticon's distraction by shooting his gun-wielding hand. Unfortunately, we'd all been too focused on Wheeljack to warn him in time.

His victim in turn let out a cry, clutching his wrist with his useful hand and recoiling in pain.

"No!" Hot Shot yelled, clutching Blurr's body to him as a child clung to a stuffed animal.

"Why can't you just stay gone?!" Carlos exclaimed angrily.

Sideways's pink optics narrowed for a moment as he took in his deceased brother's form in Hot Shot's arms, but they soon shifted back to their secretive masks.

"Leave us alone!" I yelled, though that only pulled a laugh from him.

"You're in my world now, child, and I can do whatever I like with you." he drawled, savoring his words like sugar. He titled his head back in an ecstasy unknown to us, offlining his optics for a moment.

"Okaaay, I think we missed something here." Carlos muttered in a bewildered tone.

"Yeah…You can say that." Rad replied, his eyebrow cocked.

I was too creeped out to say anything.

Hot Shot took a few tentative steps back while Wheeljack recoiled further toward the wall he was close to.

The Mini-Cons had fallen strangely silent, and were suddenly watching Sideways as if mesmerized by his statement. Even Incinerator had seemed to have forgotten that he had just been mourning his fallen partner not five minutes prior. Something in those words had altered the playing field, though I couldn't put my finger on it.

I could tell the others felt the same (save Sideways) from the bewildered looks on their faces.

I turned toward Sureshock and shook her shoulder as she continued to stare at the traitor, who remained staring up at the odd ceiling as if it was his twisted variation of Heaven.

She didn't budge an inch. It was as if she had become a statue.

Rad and Carlos soon noticed what I was doing.

Rad whispered, "What the-"

Before he could finish, however, the room vanished from us in a burst of a white light, too quick for any of us to shout in surprise in time.

That shout finally came when we arrived in a much darker room, its ceiling vaulting in the darkness high above us, the cracks on its dark bluish-green walls more large and sickly-looking than those of the previous room. The distance of the area stretched on from the shadowy turquoise floor off into several round archways that held forbidding dark holes. The arches themselves appeared to be fashioned out of veins that twitched ever so slightly every few moments, which made me shudder uncomfortably. This new room's open feel was a complete contrast to the cage-like atmosphere of the previous one. Personally, I liked that one better right then. It had seemed a tiny bit less sinister than the current one.

We were no different than we had been before. Sideways was still worshipping the ceiling, Wheeljack was still balled up in agony, Hot Shot was still clinging to what was left of Blurr and his rifle, and Rad, Carlos, and I were still wondering just what was wrong with our Mini-Cons.

"Where did you take us?" Hot Shot growled.

Sideways in turn lowered his arms to the side, and dropped his gaze back to us, chuckling. "It's the same place, just a different room."

"Well, what's 'this place,' then?" Wheeljack asked in an annoyed tone as he slowly began uncurling himself.

Our captor let out a disturbing laugh, driving claws of fear into my heart. It was a combination of spite, rapture, and release, all rolled into one.

"This is Unicron, my blessed master!" he cried out, snapping his head up once more.

"Blessed? You don't believe in Primus?" Carlos asked in a bewildered tone.

"Primus?" he repeated mockingly, breaking into a round of laughter.

Hot Shot and Wheeljack bristled at him.

"I pity you." Sideways declared in a demeaning tone at the two.

"So what makes this Unicron so great that you kill others over him?!" Hot Shot snapped.

"Me?" he asked softly, and then let out a raucous laugh. One of his fingers pointed at Hot Shot, who took a step back, and then Wheeljack, who balled up again for protection. His laughter increased with each mech he pointed at.

"This guy…Is really long gone." Carlos said in a shaky tone, forcing out a laugh.

"Y-yeah…No kidding." I replied, my own voice unsteady.

I heard a rattling sound and looked down. Hot Shot's hands, which were still cradling the fallen sniper's body and his weapon, were shaking. I looked at his face and saw that his teeth were gritted, while his optics were stretched wide in fear. It was unnerving to see that our friend and protector had lost his valor. If he wasn't able to protect himself or us, who would? Certainly not Wheeljack!

"You should really see yourselves. You slice your very own brothers and sisters to shreds to find your power! All in the name of your leaders, your sacred gifts from Primus!" Sideways yelled in an explosive tone, making all of us except the continually staring Mini-Cons cringe. They were like rocks in a storm.

"How dare you!" Wheeljack snapped.

"Try and stop me." Sideways hissed, aiming his guns at him threateningly.

"You don't get it, do you?! We don't have a choice!" Hot Shot yelled.

"Oh really? Then explain to me how I'm suddenly the most powerful being in this room, yet I haven't chosen a side!"

"That's an easy one. You're just a power slave that happened to get lucky." Wheeljack replied bitterly, standing straight up, his useless hand dangling by his side.

"Luck? Can luck manage this?" Sideways raised his arms to the ceiling.

Suddenly, the floor beneath Hot Shot and Wheeljack dissolved, leaving them to fall, screaming, into a pulsing, sickly green-colored liquid. Sideways in turn remained aloft, floating in his ghostly form, staring down at us with a look of contempt.

The liquid made bone-chilling sizzling noises as it touched the metal of the transformers that were now submerged up to their waists in it, leaving them both to let out screams of agony.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" I exclaimed, feeling tears running down my cheeks at Hot Shot's cries.

Sideways laughed. "The stomach acid of Unicron. These two will make a fine offering for him, and my worthless brother's remains will finally be lost from my memory forever."

"Stomach acid?! How big is this thing?!" Carlos yelled.

"You should know. After all, he has pursued you before, children." Sideways replied with an edge of mean-spirited playfulness in his tone.

"You mean-" My eyes widened with realization, and I stopped abruptly.

Rad finished for me. "Unicron's the planet that had been chasing us!"

"Correct. And now to end this chase once and for all. Good-bye, children."

Sideways's hands became tangible once more as he shot three individual, precise shots, headed straight for us.

It had happened so fast, I didn't have time brace myself for the impact or realize that I was about to die.

Before the white light blinded me, I saw Sureshock spontaneously snap back into life beside me, leaping toward Highwire and Grindor. And then I saw nothing.

XXXXXX

"Alexis, Alexis, wake up!" Rad whispered urgently, shaking my shoulder.

I let out a groan and opened my eyes to see Carlos and Rad kneeling before me, both of them having scared expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" I asked.

Carlos shrugged. "I really have no clue. Is this is Heaven, it's really weird."

I could feel my nerves prickling and my face sliding into the same scared painting that Rad's and Carlos's were. "We're…Not really dead, are we?"

Rad shook his head. "I don't know. I mean, wouldn't we be seeing people that have passed on already?"

"Like my mom?" I whispered, looking around for the others. Instead, I found only the scenery.

We were in a desolate room, its glow coming from the blue iridescent lights from the high ceiling above us. However, the glow seemed more sad then eerie or sickening, as if the room's inhabitants had made them this dim. The entire area was transformer-sized, and had the familiar setting of circuitry and computer devices decorating the walls. They seemed to hum and beep mournfully.

Six large tables, three on the left, three on the right, took up the room. On top of them were bodies covered with black shrouds in a respective fashion. At the back there was a transformer-sized desk with several objects on it, and above that on the wall behind it was the Autobot symbol, its blank stare making it very uncomfortable to look back at. It was a morgue. I felt my heart sink as I stared at the covered bodies and subconsciously wondered if Red Alert's or Blurr's bodies were among them. I was also seriously hoping that none of our other friends had been added to the count.

I tore my eyes from it as Carlos whispered, "Maybe we really are dead!"

"But wouldn't the Mini-Cons be here, too? They were with us when it happened." Rad's voice faltered when he said the word "it."

"Maybe we're not. I saw Sureshock leap towards Highwire right before the shot impacted." I murmured, deep in thought.

"So they finally came back to life? You think they were forming Perceptor?" Carlos asked.

"That's gotta be it!" I exclaimed, snapping my fingers.

Rad placed his finger to his lips and pointed toward the bodies.

"Sorry." I whispered, blushing with embarrassment as I realized that we still had to respect the dead, although we weren't altogether sure whether we really were in the morgue or not.

"Well, if they brought us here, why aren't they here with us? And Hot Shot too? We were standing on his shoulder." Carlos queried, skipping over Blurr's body on that list for obvious reasons.

Rad shook his head. "Who knows? The question is, what do we do now?"

I shrugged, continuing to cast my eyes around as I digested this new information.

My eyes found a human-size gurney against the left wall directly across from us. It had been hidden in the shadow of the much larger table beside it. A shroud was draped over the body on it.

"Hey guys, come look at this." I murmured in a brittle tone, walking slowly toward it, each step making my heart beat faster. It seemed like an eternity of walking through darkness, with Rad and Carlos following me through it in stunned silence. I could feel sweat sliding down my neck.

Finally, I came to the foot of the gurney and let out a sharp gasp at what I saw, stumbling backwards and smacking into Carlos, who in turn let out a cry of surprise. Rad had to grab my arm to keep me from knocking him over.

I bent my head down and began to sob uncontrollably, whispering over and over, "Not him…No, no…" It felt like someone was jabbing sharp spines into every place that hurt the most.

"Alexis, what's wrong?" Carlos asked worriedly.

I was shaking so hard, I couldn't hold myself up. I fell into Rad, whose hand left my arm in order to put both of his around me to hold me up.

I held out a shaking arm, pointing at the gurney without daring to look at it again, and the guys let out their own exclamations of surprise at what they saw.

One of my worst nightmares was beneath that shroud. Sticking out from its sides and giving away its user's identity were two silver wings with the Autobot insignia on them. And all I could think was that my last words to him had been, "Get the hell out, Starscream! Everyone else was right about you!"

We heard a crisp cracking noise and looked down. It was coming from my pendant.

I held the green rock up with a trembling hand, and the three of us watched in horror as it split down the middle.

And suddenly, everything went black.

XXXXXX

"Move, you overgrown tin can! That's right, hands up where we can see 'em!"

My eyes snapped upon at the angry male voice that was directly above me. I jerked my head up and shrank back in fear at the muscular military officer that stood before me, an AK-47 in his hand. He seemed not to notice me despite the bright white lights were bathing the hangar we were in an overpowering illumination.

Several men and women, some clad in uniforms similar to his, others in lab coats and goggles, scurried around in the background through alleys among alleys of computers. Some of the people were holding different models of top-of-line guns in the United States military, while others toted clipboards and strange probing instruments. The noise of yells and metallic clanking was overbearing, offering a heavy contrast to the last place.

I forced myself into concentrating on the new situation, otherwise I was going to lose it over thinking about Starscream being dead. There was no way that was true! Or was there? I didn't know, and I really didn't want to find out at that moment in time.

"ALEXIS, LOOK!" Rad's scream made me whip my head around, and what I saw made me want to throw up.

Optimus, Jetfire, Hot Shot, Scavenger, Hoist, and Sideswipe were being forced over to area with several probing instruments dangling from the ceiling and protruding from the walls. They were completely disarmed and holding their hands over their heads in surrender.

I felt new tears glistening in my eyes at the look of utter shame and defeat in Optimus's majestic golden optics. He didn't hang his head, but the emotion that was being conveyed from those optics provided more sorrow than any body language could muster.

I looked over Rad and Carlos, who were also on the floor, and saw that they were crying too.

I crawled to them as the officer bellowed, "YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY TO KILL OUR KIDS?! BY THE TIME WE'RE DONE WITH YOU, YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE NEVER MADE!"

We shrieked out in agony at the fact that our friends were being treated as criminals by our own race, and that it had been our fault that their secret hadn't stayed hidden. We couldn't bear to look Optimus's sorrowful optics anymore, nor could we even try to glance at any of the others again. Jetfire's optics blazed with fury at his imprisonment. Hot Shot's teeth clenched in frustration at not being able to prove his innocence. Scavenger frowned in repulsion at the oppressive humans, who acted none other than Decepticons. Hoist tried not to look at the creatures that were plotting to expose him for all to see while he was within earshot, but the fear was written plainly on his face. Sideswipe had an expression of betrayal on his face, having been the one who had known the human race for the least amount of time.

A man zipped by us with a clipboard, and spoke hurriedly to the officer behind us.

He cut the man off mid-sentence by yelling, "Then get the rest of those metal freaks in here, you idiot! I don't give a damn about the space limit! Heaven forbid these monsters get a little cramped!"

"'The rest?'" Carlos repeated breathlessly.

"This can't be happening!" Rad exclaimed in a shaky voice.

The golden light from Optimus's optics expanded and exploded in a moment, consuming us.

XXXXXX

The first thing I saw were broken pieces of machinery.

I sat straight up. Was it theirs? Oh no…

Rad, Carlos, and I were in a gigantic metal junkyard, with pieces of human vehicles and human-sized weaponry strewn everywhere, all of which seemed to bask in the blazing desert sun.

"Looks like whatever it was, it's over now." Carlos muttered.

Rad nodded. "Hopefully."

Placing my hand to the glass of my helmet just above my eyes, I looked out and saw the remains of a city in the distance. Fear prickled within me.

"This is bad. Very bad." I murmured, pointing at it so the guys could have a look.

"That's…That's our city!" Rad screamed.

We suddenly were taken aback as the situation hit us. There the three of us were, standing in awe at what had been a battle of epic proportions and the subsequent destruction of our hometown. We had no clue if there were any survivors, and whether or not our families or friends had been among the lost. Loneliness was beginning to spread its choking embrace around us.

"You think the Decepticons caused this?" Carlos asked.

Something seemed to have caught Rad's eye, as his head snapped around sharply. "I don't think it was them, guys."

We followed his gaze and froze.

Tanks, jets, jeeps, and other vehicles of every military design lay scattered about, with a small portion of them having extracted transformer technology placed in them. Just looking at them made my skin crawl, especially at the fact that their dead operators were hidden somewhere in the debris.

The stillness seemed to crush us until Carlos stated, "So people did this."

"Maybe some other countries wanted to see what the United States now had to play with, if this is continuing from the last vision." I remarked bitterly.

"You're probably right." Rad muttered in a hollow tone.

We just stood there for I don't know how long until we abruptly fell to our knees and began to bawl like little kids under the sun's all-seeing eye. Thankfully, that eye quickly closed in on us.

XXXXXX

Just as soon as the white light had reached its brightest point, it had begun to dim, sliding to the right side and gaining the colors of orange, pink, and red, turning the scrubland it touched a sort of marigold color.

Unlike the previous three places, this one seemed to hold a sense of soothing, and even some familiarity. I felt relief well up in me as I realized remembered this place for a good reason, rather than a painful one like the last area.

Surprisingly, this time instead of appearing lying down, I was sitting straight up, though what I was sitting on didn't seem stable, and I seemed to be clinging to a chain that was supporting it.

I looked away from the sunset, flicking my gaze toward the chain, and let out a cry of surprise.

My hand, which had considerably shrunk, was bare, the space suit gone. It was clinging to a chain on a swing set, the two rusting metal rods that connected it to the ground stuck in a criss-crossing form right next to the swing. I remembered jumping off of the exact same set when I was six, and Dad's anger at me for doing so. Beyond them was a tall metal sliding board, its surface reflecting the sun's rays like a mirror. When I was three, I finally conquered my fears and went down one just like it. Mom and Dad were so proud of me. To the left of it was an old merry-go-round, which was rotating slowly. Chris and I would always sit in the middle of a similar one while Dad pushed us as fast as we desired. The only problem with this place was the act that the town government had torn the original down when I was eight, saying that its decaying state had made it too dangerous for kids to play on. All of us had considered that to be absolute bull, but nonetheless it was nothing more than a patch of sand that I rode by on Sureshock, sometimes casting a mournful glance at it.

"Hey guys, do you kind of strange?" I asked, turning my head to in the opposite direction to find Rad and Carlos. I clamped my mouth shut in surprise at how little my voice sounded.

"Sweetie, who are you talking to this time?" asked my mother.

I let out a squeak of surprise, half falling off of the swing.

There she was, sitting on the stone park bench, the massive jungle gym (at least to me when I was kid who could never make it to the top) just behind her. Her billowing crimson hair (which I oftentimes tugged on when I was little) was tied back with a rubber band, keeping the strands off of her sunburned face and out of her loving emerald eyes, the same eyes Dad told me I had. A playful smile was on her lips, as if she knew a secret of mine. Well, she kind of did. After all, I oftentimes told her about my imaginary friends, Darla, Cindy, Kristen, and Buttercup (I was into the Powerpuff Girls as a kid. Don't judge me.). She was wearing an old white blouse and a denim skirt, which her paint-stained hands were resting on. Her once white shoes were turning tan from months of wear and tear in our town's sandy setting. Parked not too far behind her was the Mustang, which seemed to have gone from the old to middle-aged. Maybe I really was dead.

"Careful, sweetheart. You wouldn't want to ruin your favorite dress." Mom chastised gently.

My favorite dress…My eyes fell on the jean jumper tinged with red fabric and matching red buttons that I was wearing. I had always worn it whenever I went out with my mom.

However, something was off. Dangling around my neck was my green pendant, its surface still shattered. I felt tears welling up in my eyes.

"Mommy, help me! I can't get up!" I cried.

Even though I was supposed to be having the mindset of a fifteen-year-old, all of a sudden I was four years old again and wanted my mother.

The smile grew warmer as she came over and helped me off of the swing. I threw my arms around her, crying.

"What's the matter, Lexi?" she asked soothingly, stroking my hair from where she was crouched before me.

"I'm just glad you're here, Mommy." I whispered.

"Of course I'm here." she replied as she continued to smooth my hair out.

That only made me cry more.

She drew out, and I clung to her shoulders. A look of worry was on her face. "Are you all right? Did you get hurt?"

"I-I'm okay. It's just…" I tried to think of something that I could divert her attention to.

I had an idea. I removed one of my hands from her shoulder and used it to lift up my pendant for her to see.

It was as if she suddenly realized it was around my neck.

Her eyes widened as one of her hands touched its surface softly. "Where did you get this?" she asked.

"A boy named Gabriel gave it to me. He told me to take care of it, but Mommy, I didn't! What am I gonna do? He's gonna hate me for it!" I broke down into sobs again. That time I was crying over Starscream.

She lifted my chin with her hand and slowly shushed me, wiping away my tears with her thumb.

"Don't worry, I can help you fix it."

Mom picked up my other hand that was still on her shoulder, and placed it over the rock. She then placed her hand over mine.

A green light glowed for a moment, bouncing off both of our faces. My eyes widened at the sight.

When it subsided, she removed our hands. It was still cracked, reminding me of Starscream's near-death experience that had cost him his transformer body, but most of the very deep ones were gone.

"It's not perfect, but you can show him that you cared enough to try to fix it."

"But won't he be unhappy that I broke it?" I asked.

"A little at first, but it won't last forever, sweetheart. Not when you've shown him that you consider him important to you." Her warm smile came back as she stated that.

But as soon as it returned, she began to fade away. I screamed and tried to hold onto her as I burst into fresh tears.

"No Mommy! Please stay here!"

She leaned forward to kiss the top of my head. "I love you, Alexis."

"MOMMY!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs, squeezing my eyes shut as everything faded away. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay with my mother and not worry about anything else. It just wasn't fair!

But I had to go, whether I liked it or not. Somehow, that pendant held Starscream's life. I didn't know if I was up to the task that had been dumped on me, but I had the image of him lying under that shroud to remind me that I had no choice. I couldn't let the boy I still, despite the stupid things each of us had done in the past, felt affection for, maybe even loved, die while I could have done something about it.


	21. Chapter 21

I wanted this chapter to revolve more around the friendship between the kids and their Mini-Cons as well as the past friendship between Hot Shot and Wheeljack. Sorry this took so long to write, but it needed that time. Rad's telling Highwire to escape to Earth was actually the original dialogue from the show. I had to rewatch the episode to figure out what it was exactly. If anyone is wondering when we're going to be hearing from Starscream again, it won't be until Chapter 23. If you would like to see, or rather, hear, where I got my inspiration for this chapter, type Final Fantasy X A Dream That Will End Sometime into the search bar on Youtube and give it a good listen. Why does a lot of my Transformers inspiration come from Final Fantasy X? It's because both give me a feeling a sentimentality, and a few of their social commentaries are similar. I don't own anythiing but the original character Luisa in this chapter, and she is only mentioned briefly. Haha, an OC that doesn't appear!

-Alexis's POV-

The fact that Rad and Carlos were standing before me when I opened my eyes was a comfort in itself.

I ran over to them, threw one arm around each, and forced myself to catch my breath as the last of my sobs left over from my experience with the previous vision died away.

I felt somewhat thicker, and realized that I was back in my space suit, a teenager again. They were in theirs as well.

"You okay?" Carlos asked softly after a few moments of silence.

I nodded, letting go and scanning our surroundings, muttering, "Oh, great. Where are we now?"

The area was a dark blue cavern, illuminated by an eerie purple light on the floor's level, and a sickly green light from what appeared to be green orbs growing from out of the ceiling above us. It looked like a flipped version of Unicron's stomach.

Rad shook his head. "I haven't got a clue. One minute you guys we there, and then you were both gone. I was suddenly a little kid again, back when my family and I were just moving where you guys lived."

"Whoa, seriously? The same thing happened to me!" Carlos exclaimed in surprise, and then lowered his head, along with his voice, continuing, "I was back when Aunt Luisa took me out for ice cream on my fourth birthday."

Rad and I gave him apologetic looks. Luisa was Carlos's favorite aunt. She absolutely adored him, but she and his dad, her brother, had gotten into a huge fight when Carlos was ten. He rarely ever saw her after that.

"I," I stopped to clear my throat, "I saw my mom."

"I'm sorry." Rad murmured gently.

"Same here." Carlos added.

I sighed. "I actually learned something new from her."

"What do you mean?" Rad asked.

I took off my necklace, holding it up for the three of us to look at as it slowly rotated on its chain. The green orbs seemed to add an angry glow to it, reflecting off of the visors of our helmets.

"Hey, the crack's gone!" Carlos exclaimed excitedly.

"But how?" Rad asked.

I drew in a breath. "Well, when I saw my mom, I still had this necklace on for some reason. I showed it to her and said that a boy named Gabriel had given it to me and made me promise that I'd take care of it. I explained that I had busted it by mistake and also that I was worried about him being angry with me for not taking better care of it. She put one of her hands on the rock, and one of mine on top. The rock glowed, and the big crack was repaired when we took both of our hands off."

After digesting this, Rad touched it gingerly with his index finger. "So what do you think it means?" he asked.

"This may sound a little farfetched, but I think it's gotta be connected to his spark. I mean, think: he nearly died as a transformer, and this rock gave him a new body. When we," I paused to shudder, "saw his body in the morgue, it split down the middle, but mom and I repaired it, and it's like this right now." I gestured at it with my other hand.

"So he's still alive. That much we do know. How come the other broken parts aren't healed up?" Carlos asked, pointing at the other cracks on the rock as he said so.

"I think it's because those can't be changed. They appeared when he got his body." I tried to stop the pain from entering my voice again, but I couldn't.

Carlos caught it. "I'm sorry, Alexis. I didn't mean to make you sad."

"It's okay. You didn't know." I replied, waving the notion away with my free hand and cracking a smile.

"So maybe the vision means you're holding Starscream's life in your hands?" Rad asked in a creeped-out tone.

Carlos whistled. "That sounds a little big, amigo."

My arm was getting tired, so I lowered it as I replied, "I don't think his entire life. More like a piece of it. After all, it did crack on its own when he almost died, and then it completely cracked when we saw his body. Whatever it is, I gotta be really careful with this."

Carlos held out his hand. "Wait, wait, wait! Sideways shot us! Wouldn't that have blown the rock to bits?"

We pondered this for a second, and then cried out happily, "We're not dead!"  
If our situation hadn't been so up in the air as it was at that point, we probably would've done a little victory dance.

"Okay, so now what?" I asked, refastening the chain around my neck.

The guys shrugged cluelessly.

"Anybody in the mood for hangman?"

"Caaaarloooossss." Rad and I groaned, squeezing our eyes shut and shaking our heads.

As soon as we had done that, a peculiar tearing sound came from above us.

My eyes shot open, and I threw my head up to the green orbs being torn open. Falling from those orbs were the forms of Mini-Cons.

"Wow, look at 'em all!" Rad exclaimed.

"Wait; are they being born or something?" Carlos asked, forcing a freshman year's worth of biology to run through my head.

"I think you're right. But we're inside Unicron though, aren't we? Does that mean they were created by him?" I asked in a surprised tone.

Carlos sighed. "Looks like it."

"Hey, does it look like they're going to war?" Rad asked as Highwire, Grindor, and Sureshock slid out of three nearby orbs to land in the middle of three separate single-file lines of marching Mini-Cons. Not a single one beeped.

It sad to watch. The Mini-Cons were so beautiful as individuals, with their musical voices and unique personalities, but that was gone.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Rad suddenly broke into a run.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" Carlos called after him, running to keep up. I followed suit.

"Highwire, hang on! What's the deal, don't you remember me?" Rad screamed at his Mini-Con's back.

Highwire just kept going, much to our horror.

"Listen to me, you've got to escape to Earth! We'll be waiting for you there! You've gotta get off this planet, Highwire!"

I skidded to a halt in my tracks, letting out a cry of surprise as Rad's Mini-Con suddenly stopped moving. It suddenly all made sense. The Mini-Cons had fled Cybertron and landed on Earth, a planet they had never heard of, because Rad had told them it was a safe zone. Rad had single-handedly prevented a massive amount of killings over the Mini-Cons on Cybertron.

"Highwire?" Rad asked in a bewildered tone, as if he was meeting a long-lost friend.

That was why Sideways had wanted to kill us. Unicron had known what had happened. It had all occurred inside of him, and he had told Sideways, his herald. Sideways had thought that he could break the cycle by killing us while the Mini-Cons were distracted by their master, but he was dreadfully wrong.

Highwire turned around and tilted his head, beeping at Rad.

Rad whispered his friend's name softly.

The Mini-Cons had turned against Unicron again because something in their sparks had told them not to allow themselves to be taken over by him. Maybe it was the fact that they had had to escape the clutches of the Decepticons, or maybe it was because of the fact that they had made new friends and discovered their identities on their own. Whatever the case was, Unicron's objective was now displayed to us: he had created the Mini-Cons to be weapons for the Autobots and Decepticons to kill each other over. Sideways had been badmouthing Primus in Unicron's name. Something had to have gotten Unicron so mad at Primus that he had wanted to get even with him in the harshest way: have Primus's kids kill off each other.

Suddenly, two white lights exploded from Highwire's optics, making us let out cries of surprise as they threw us, screaming, backwards from space, ripping through the previous visions with lightning speed as if they were a movie in reverse.

Within moments, we were back on Hot Shot's shoulders, and Sideways was beginning to drawl the word, "correct."

Sureshock, Highwire, and Grindor seemed to explode into life, leaping forward to merge into Perceptor once again right in front of Hot Shot's face.

"What the-?!" Sideways exclaimed, for once taken off guard.

Blurr's body splashed with a sizzling sound into the acid as Hot Shot clasped his hands around Perceptor, screaming, "Are you crazy?!" The rifle was still held aloft, and was somehow being cradled in the crooks of his arms. He wasn't going to let that go.

Perceptor spun his head to stare at Sideways, taking away our ability to see his expression. What we did see was his finger, pointed at the turncoat in a threatening motion.

Pink optics stretched wide in fear, and their owner promptly disappeared, leaving us to haunting cries of Wheeljack's pain, the vomit-inducing sounds of the acid corroding him and Hot Shot alive, along with the body of the fallen sniper.

Incinerator's urgent cries soon joined the general noise as Perceptor scurried back up Hot Shot's arms and over to us, where he defused back into the three separate Mini-Cons. I smiled as Rad hugged Highwire to him, but that fell quickly as Hot Shot gritted his teeth in pain with a groan.

We gripped his shoulders for dear life as he crouched down to pick up Blurr once again, but he suddenly stopped, flicking his gaze toward Wheeljack for a moment.

It was horrible. Wheeljack was stranded in the acid with no close exit. Even if he did make it to one of the holes in the walls, his damaged hand wouldn't give enough strength to haul himself out. His cerulean optics met Hot Shot's with an angered expression, as if he expected to be left behind again.

Hot Shot murmured, "Sorry Incinerator, but he needs help."

At that, he stood back up and began painfully picking his way through the corrosive substance, leaving Blurr's body to dissolve. His weapon, however, stayed with us. Blurr hadn't made Hot Shot promise him to take his body, only his sniper rifle.

Promise or no promise, shame was written plainly on Hot Shot's face. Blurr wouldn't be having the same opportunity for a formal funeral as Red Alert had had. If our friend went back for him, the acid would overtake his weak body and digest him as well.

Incinerator was quiet for a few moments, but he suddenly shook his head as if to clear it and began to beep in a cheery tone to the yellow mech.

Jolt joined in soon afterwards, as did our Mini-Cons, and finally we did.

A fragment of smile appeared on Hot Shot's face as he continued, pushing himself harder through the lethal green liquid, his squeaks of pain lessening more and more as he quit caring about them.

I cast a glance at Wheeljack's slowly growing form. He wore a look of shock on his face, and seemed to grow more defensive as his former comrade neared, as if he thought Hot Shot was playing a nasty trick on him. Yet, he didn't say a word.

That was, until Hot Shot came struggling to a halt, extending his hand, which involuntary shook, much like the rest of his body. We still had to cling to him despite the fact that he wasn't hunched over.

Wheeljack just stared at it as if it was a snake.

"W-Well?"The pain was making it hard for Hot Shot to speak.

"Wh-what?" Try as he might, the former Autobot couldn't stop his own voice from shaking.

"Are you...coming...or not?"

"Wh-why? Am I...gonna...be a...prisoner?"

"Do...ya really give....a damn? Y-you're gonna die...here." The frying of oxidizing circuitry punctuated Hot Shot's point.

Wheeljack traced his optics around the area for a moment, and I realized that he was weighing his options. Should he follow his "old friend" and risk being captured? Or should he go it alone and be digested alive? Neither sounded very good to his point of view.

Finally, he let out a sigh, and without looking at Hot Shot, relented. "I'll...come."

"Left...guys..." Hot Shot murmured.

Everyone that was sitting on his right shoulder quickly obliged, cramming over onto my side as Wheeljack's arm was thrust over it. Thankfully, it had been held above the acid's level.

The guys, Mini-Cons and I cried out our support as we were all carried over to the nearest hole, which ironically seemed so very far away.

Minutes passed like hours as Hot Shot sloshed through the acid, causing Wheeljack and him to groan in even more pain. Yet neither considered separating.

Between our cheers, Rad, Carlos, and I exchanged helpless glances with the Mini-Cons. If they could have removed the acid, they would have. Unicron was just too powerful.

Suddenly, the cheers turned to gasps of horror as Hot Shot steps faltered for a moment, but he quickly regained control of himself and continued, muttering, "Don't...stop."

I let out a sigh of relief as Carlos shuddered at what could have happened.

"That was a little close for comfort." Rad whispered in a frightened tone.

A few minutes later, we were finally close enough to leave this hellish area. However, it was no time for relaxing.

Wheeljack removed his arm from Hot Shot's back and sloshed over to the hole, keeping his piercing gaze locked on his savior's the whole time, the green light below reflecting in a ghost-like pattern on his face. We kept quiet as he did so, making the disquieting chorus of the rotting metal all the more blood-congealing.  
After one final moment, the Decepticon nodded his head and turned to the hole. He stuck his good arm in, trying to haul his weak knees up onto the sill and ultimately failing.

I couldn't bear to think of how different the scene would have been, had we left him behind.

Hot Shot slowly extended his left and right hands, the rifle clenched tightly between his teeth, pushing him up onto the sill of the hole, forcing us to yet again grab for dear life.

Wheeljack, once inside, turned his head back for a moment and whispered something that sounded suspiciously like a thank-you.

I put my hands to my mouth when I saw how chewed-up his legs were. Energon was leaking from them, and some circuitry was exposed by some of the deeper holes. Luckily, the cables weren't frayed, at least by what I could see. He was experiencing the transformer equivalent of a flesh wound.

Something caught the corner of my eye, and I saw Highwire trying to comfort Incinerator, who was keeping his back to Blurr for a very good reason. It was heart-wrenching to watch, so I looked away.

After Wheeljack crawled further in, Hot Shot followed suit, hauling himself up, crawling forwards, deeper into a dark cavern just behind the mech he had rescued. No one dared to look back.

The darkness, as well as the sound, began to fade away, and was slowly replaced by gentle lavender light. This chamber was less open, and it had strange triangular bulbs like lamps that gave out the light popping out of thick silver roots in the walls. There were archways directly in front of us, and neither on the sides. Finally, the two collapsed, and the gun dropped out of Hot Shot's mouth, clattering to the floor loudly.

"Even." Wheeljack muttered.

"Huh?" Hot Shot asked in a tired tone.

"We're even...I'm not...I'm not gonna...kill ya...well...for now...anyway..."

"Sounds great."

As the two rested, Rad let out a yawn and laid back against Highwire, who was lying on his back, drifting.

"Um, Rad, is that really a good idea?" Carlos asked, "We're kinda inside the guy who wants us dead, gross as that is."

"You got a better idea?" Rad muttered, closing his eyes.

Carlos shrugged. "Eh, guess I don't." He leaned backwards onto Grindor, and the two of them dozed off in sitting positions. That was going to kill his neck.

Watching them made me realize how tired I was myself.

I laid my head down on Sureshock's lap. She stared down at me sleepily.

"Nighty-night." I whispered to her, and rolled my head over to see Incinerator, who was still awake, and felt a pang of sadness for how lonely he was.

Hearing someone walking toward us, I looked back to see Jolt.

He waved lazily to Sureshock and me, and then curled up comfortingly next to Incinerator. The two slowly powered down for a short while.

The vision of the individual lights of their optics slowly fading into the heavy lavender as they were offlined swam in my vision, and against all the odds, I submitted to my body's need for sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

For all of you who have wondered what hole I've vanished into lately, it's been the one where I've been typing away at this very long, very important chapter. This is the part where Unicron's power is revealed, and a couple of characters in the Armada cast lose their lives. This will also be Alexis's last chapter for a little while. Starscream will pick up narration for the next two, and then it will go back to Alexis again. So what took so long with this one? Planning and general length. Just one little notice that I have to post: The fact that Sideways was not first created by Unicron in this story as his herald, rather he is coerced into being one, was inspired by LadyVenus 1's Starscream and Alexis Series. I don't own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

Even though my body was in repose, my mind certainly wasn't.

I was buried from the waist up in hot, fresh tar, the scent of it massacring my nostrils and the feeling of it making me shriek in pain.

My suit was gone, unfortunately. Although its extra weight would have pulled me under much quicker, it was better than feeling as if I was on fire, with every excruciating second being marked by a flame.

I flicked my eyes around frantically for a nearby ledge where I could at least attempt to pull myself out, but found nothing but bubbling tar expanding out onto the bleak horizon where it was kissed by a depressingly dark gray sky.

What I saw floating in it made me snap my eyes shut, which allowed me to be assailed with the white bombshells of pain that exploded from the pain caused by the tar encasing the lower half of my body in an immobile cocoon. I wanted to wake up, to free myself from this horrible vision, but much like my legs in the tar, I felt trapped inside of the scene.

It was my first nightmare to include the skeletal designs of the Cybertronian buildings we had seen right before the battle had begun. They had manifested themselves in the tar pit, some of them sticking halfway out of it, their steel heights thrown upwards to the sky like the arms of the desperate, while others showed merely the tops of their spires, almost as if they were also alive and taking their very last breaths before drowning completely.

A shot exploded far to the right side, sending thick, gooey drops the devouring tar flying to the left to splatter on me. My cry of surprise changed to one of agony as I felt them scald my neck, scalp, arms, and shoulders.

I whipped my head around to find the shooter, and was met with raucous laughter.

I let out a gasp at what I saw.

Galvatron, his body ravaged with deep cuts and exposed wires that sparked blue every few moments, clung to the spire of the highest exposed building in the pit. Dangling lifelessly from it was a faded purple Decepticon flag. It was half draped over the right side of his head, the horn of which had broken off. His expression was a combination of happiness and insanity, his ruby optics were ablaze, and his mouth seemed to have stretched to twice its size with the giant fanged grin he bore. In his left hand dangled the Requiem Blaster. Somewhere inside of the pain, I felt a shiver go up my spine at the sight.

"It's only you now, child." He broke into laughter once more as he watched me in squirm before him. Sadly, I couldn't help it.

"Leave…me…ALONE!" I yelled the last word, having growled the first two between gritted teeth. I didn't want to take into account what Galvatron had just proclaimed. All I wanted to do was stop dreaming altogether.

His laughter cut off suddenly as he aimed the Blaster directly at me. "Good bye."

That action made everything click into place in my head. I knew exactly what had triggered the dream, why the pain I was feeling in it seemed so real, and why it was so hard to get out of. It was simple: The nightmare, much like any natural one, was triggered by negative thoughts that were on my mind, such as my fear of Galvatron being the victor of the war and losing everyone I cared dearly for. It was also caused by my horror-filled memories of seeing true war for the first time and of Hot Shot and Wheeljack being digested alive in the hellish acid pool. Unicron, the dark being that he was, fed off of suffering and weakness. Since I had fallen asleep inside of him (gross as that sounded), he had more control over me in my unconscious state. He had made the dream more vivid and trapped me inside to increase my fear.

I suddenly felt a shiver go up my spine. What if he could make my body move on its own, say to the end of Hot Shot's shoulder that I was sleeping on? What if the gun being pointed at me was a metaphor for my actual death? Would I even wake up?

As the Requiem Blaster fully charged, I squeezed my eyes shut, exposing myself to the pounding white spots again. One of my hands found the pendant around my neck and clenched it tightly. Unlike before, when I had no clue of what was to happen to me, this time I was realizing that I could possibly die. The cruel thought of it dizzied me with agony, and I unwittingly let the white explosions against my closed eyelids overtake me completely.

XXXXXX

"Finally, you're awake!" Sureshock exclaimed as I opened my eyes.

I sat bolt upright, glancing around quickly.

She was kneeling beside me on my left. Relief was showing in her optics as she hugged me to her.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Rad, his arms clutching his chest, and Carlos, his hands clasped tightly together over his folded legs, were slumped towards me, looking groggy, their Mini-Cons not too far from them. To tell the truth, I was feeling about the same way.

Incinerator sat near Hot Shot's neck, which Jolt in turn was standing by.

Hot Shot was up, and he was walking. Wheeljack was beside him. The room we were currently in was an ice-blue tunnel with bright yellow orbs popping out from the sides of the wall like the blossoms of flowers, rather strange flowers at that. Peeking further back, I could still well see the lavender room that we had left behind. I guessed that I hadn't missed much while I was sleeping.

He cast his optics down at me and smiled. "Okay, that's everyone."

"Did you guys sleep?" I asked quietly. Sureshock slowly released me. I pulled my knees to my chest subconsciously, feeling myself shaking.

Hot Shot frowned. "Yeah, but not very long. This place creeped Wheeljack and me out so much that we both had bad dreams. We thought it'd be best if we didn't go back into recharge afterwards. What was strange, though, was the fact that we both had trouble waking up from them. So, we spent a while trying to send long-range signals for help, but we haven't gotten a response."

I wondered for a moment if the two had sent signals to their own factions, or if they had both chosen to ask the Autobots for help. I wasn't in the mood to ask, however, seeing as how desperate we were for any kind of assistance.

"We guessed it had to be Unicron's doing," Wheeljack supplied gruffly, "Primus only knows what else he's capable of."

Their experiences matched mine all too well, and Rad and Carlos seemed as disturbed as I was. The only ones that hadn't seemed to have gone through a drastic change were the Mini-Cons.

I glanced over at Sureshock, who in turn lowered her head, murmuring, "I know what you are going to ask, Alexis. No, not one of my kind present did recharge."

"But I saw Incinerator and Jolt. And you looked so tired…" My voice trailed off as she shook her head.

"That was a façade to make Unicron think we were at rest. Yes, we were tired, and we still are. Perhaps even more so now."

They had used their strength to prevent him from killing us! As that knowledge sunk in, I let out a gasp. "But that isn't fair to you!"

"Alexis, you should know better."

I gave Rad a reproachful look. "Excuse me?"

Slowly, his arms uncoiled from around his chest as a fierce expression entered his eyes. "Our Mini-Cons protected us from Unicron's influence because they wanted to. Getting angry at them for doing what they want makes us no better than him."

"As much as none of us want to admit it, he's right." Wheeljack supplied.

I felt a surge of surprise, as well as a little guilt. We hadn't mentioned our near-death experience to Hot Shot, let alone Wheeljack. There hadn't been any time. Plus, at that point we hadn't really trusted him. We'd left the two of them out of the loop as a result. Looking over, I noticed that Rad, no longer looking fierce, and Carlos, no longer tired, had mirroring confused expressions that probably matched mine easily.

Hot Shot saw our faces and explained, "When our Mini-Cons freed us from our own dreams, they explained to Wheeljack and me what was going on. They didn't really have a choice."

I watched Jolt lean softly against Hot Shot's neck.

The yellow mech in turn smiled down at him and continued, "We learned everything you guys know now. The Mini-Cons were made by Unicron as slaves, but the three of you freed them."

Wheeljack smirked. "Well, partly Sideways did as well."

Hot Shot rolled his optics. "Not helping."

Carlos let out a breath as we passed into an earthly-brown colored room with several little fissures in them, making it resemble a still-frame of an earthquake. Hot and Shot and Wheeljack had to pick their way carefully through them.

"So, you don't care that they were made by him?"

Hot Shot and Wheeljack stopped and looked at each other for a moment.

Hot Shot turned his head back to look at us and answered with a shine in his optics, "It explains this war a lot, that's for sure. But we're not going to take it out on them. They didn't latch onto us like parasites and force us to use them as weapons. It was us who chose them as partners for ourselves, and to use their powers to fight. They showed us what they could do only because they felt it was their job to do that, right?"

He fixed his optics on Highwire for affirmation.

The Mini-Con nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"Well, the point is that they didn't want to cause a war. They proved that by rejecting Unicron. They just followed their programming."

"But they still have a choice, don't they? They don't have to follow their programming! They were programmed to help Unicron, and they didn't!" Rad yelled in a defiant tone, getting to his feet.

"Rad, please, calm down." Highwire pleaded as he and Grindor tugged him back to a sitting position.

"No, they don't have a choice," Wheeljack replied with finality in his tone as his sapphire optics traced the paths Wind Sheer was making on his shoulder as he paced back in forth, "Not when they're like this. The Mini-Cons are powerful together, but it's our war that tears them apart, fragments them. They tried to escape it, but they were found again."

Rad and Carlos hung their heads. I felt a pang of sympathy for them.

"The only way they can survive now is if they choose a side. Before, they didn't know about opposing powers. All they knew was that Unicron and the warring transformers were something to stay away from. Their fear united them, but that only lasted so long. All emotions have to die off at some point, but war, that's different. We knew about it when we were sparked, and we know it now." he finished in a hollow tone, reaching out and pushing his Mini-Con closer to him affectionately with his good hand.

"But Galvatron is only so old. He started the Decepticons, didn't he?" Carlos asked.

"He did, but that doesn't mean problems between us didn't exist." Hot Shot murmured softly.

"Wait, you mean there were Autobot civil wars?" I queried in a shocked tone.

A picture was forming in my unwilling mind of Optimus standing over a dead body of a fellow Autobot his gun cocked in the air triumphantly. It made me want to cry. I knew the Autobots weren't perfect by any means, but just thinking of how far their imperfections went made me shrink back in fear.

Before Hot Shot could reply, however, the floor collapsed beneath us, and we plunged into darkness, screaming.

XXXXXX

I stopped shaking from where Rad, Carlos, the Mini-Cons, and I clung to Hot Shot after a short fall and glanced up to see a rather shocking sight.

Sideways, his back to us, was on his knees, his head thrown back in what looked like a pleading pose. He was in the middle of a room that was dimly lit by a tall, glowing crimson pillar. Its light was cast onto the silver, thickly padded substances that covered the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room, which seemed to throb and pop in time with a loud pulsing noise that emanated from the pillar. Whether I liked them or not, they were the things that had cushioned us. Hot Shot was silent as he stared from the sitting position he was in, but his optics were wide. Wheeljack had a look of disgust on his face, and he breathed hard. However, the noise of it was drowned out by the heavy pulsing. In fact, it was no wonder that Sideways hadn't been able to detect us; the pulsing was too loud.

Rad, Carlos, our Mini-Cons, and I huddled together on Hot Shot's shoulder, while Jolt and Incinerator remained at the base of his neck. I knew Wind Sheer was doing the same thing. I felt Sureshock shiver beside me slightly, so I squeezed her hand.

"Sideways," came a deep, powerful voice from the pillar, "I have asked for you to wait for me to determine your punishment for your foolishness. That appointed time has know come."

My breath caught in my pain from my hand feeling as if it was being crushed in a vice. This was Unicron talking! His voice, though strong, carried an undercurrent of something dark, something that was unable to be seen, but was threatening all the same. It reminded me of my childhood fear of the monster under the bed.

"You beg for a second chance. Why should I give it? I took you from a throwaway creature forged so carelessly by Primus into a herald of my own. I listened to you when no one else would. I taught you whatever you wished to learn. I removed your useless shell and forged one anew. Dear sparkling, I made you my own! AND ALL I ASKED FOR YOU WAS TO LISTEN TO ME!"

We ducked our heads in fear as his yell shook the room. His voice had been gradually increasing in volume, as if the monster under the bed was slowly creeping up. I was really glad that I wasn't Sideways at that point.

For a few moments, all that was heard was the pulsing of the pillar. We slowly glanced up to see that Sideways was now curled in on himself, and was shaking violently. Whether he was saying anything or not was unknown to us because of the high frequency of the room we were in. He was a far cry from what he had been before, and to tell the truth, it felt good to see him like that.

But why was Unicron letting us simply watch? He had to have known we were right there in the same area.

To say the answer was unpleasant would be a gross understatement. He'd wanted to demonstrate his will to us.

Suddenly, Sideways was swept up into the air by his neck and held by two vein-like tentacles that burst forth from the walls. He thrashed around wildly, trying to escape the death-like grip of the veins, but it was no use.

"I hereby remove your position as my herald and your immortality. You are now of no further use to me." Unicron stated in a dry tone.

A moment afterwards, he snapped the purple mech's neck clean in half, showering the floor with bright pink energon. It retained its glow against the red onslaught for a little while until it was absorbed into the silver padding directly underneath it. He then dropped Sideways's lifeless remains to the floor as if they were trash.

I thought my hand was going to split from Sureshock's clenching of it as I swung my shocked head back and forth between Rad and Carlos, the two of them doing the exact same. When I threw my gaze upwards, I saw that the shock did not remain in Hot Shot and Wheeljack's optics for long, as frustration quickly pushed it away.

"Ah, dear children, it appears as if I have ruined your vengeance. Please accept my humblest apologies."

I shuddered as I heard those words pass. The column didn't budge an inch. All it took was a slight change in words to put my body on high alert. The monster was out from under the bed, and he knew that I was scared of him, so he was mocking me.

"What a shame, what a shame. You must feel angry with me. After all, he killed your friend, did he not?" The words were smooth as oil. Accompanying them were sounds of the vein-like tentacles sliding across the floor toward us.

I saw Rad lean forward onto his hands, his mouth moving frantically. He was trying to warn Hot Shot of the impending attack, but none of us could hear his cry.

I let out a cry of surprise as we were swept downwards, skidding to a halt amount later.

I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to be caught in the grip of one of the hideous tentacles, but found that wasn't the case.

I looked up to see Hot Shot, his teeth gritted, the sniper rifle poised in his right hand. A moment later, he took a shot. The collision between the shots and the tentacles lopped off the front ends of them in a brief explosion of white that banished away the red around it.

The victory was short-lived. The red quickly returned, and the tentacles quickly regenerated. The pulse of the room sped up slightly.

"Fool!" Unicron cried out mockingly.

Hot Shot ignored him and continued blasting away. Wheeljack quickly joined in. We gulped and cowered helplessly as the tentacles drew ever closer. We gave our Mini-Cons pleading glances, but they shook their heads sadly. They had used up too much of their power in protecting us earlier. The situation was quickly turning hopeless.

As the veins were a few yards from us, and the pulsing drew up to a climax, something completely unexpected occurred.

A flash of multiple colors exploded in the room, forcing us to shield our eyes. Unicron let out a cry of surprise at the interruption, and the tentacles immediately halted. The pulsing skipped a beat for a moment.

When the flash subsided, we saw Thrust floating up and down in the crimson light, facing the pillar. He was shaking fear as he flew from side to side, gesturing wildly about him.

"Enough!" the dark being yelled.

Thrust quickly settled down, cowering in the air.

"It does not concern me what it must take for you to hold up your end of the bargain, Thrust. What matters to me is that it must be done! Or would you like to join your partner, Sideways, in his fate? There he is on the floor below you." Unicron's words held a finality to them. He sounded compelled to kill once more without a single thought against it. The pulse was thrumming hard.

The flyer looked down and lurched up in surprise, shaking his head fast.

"A fine choice, my friend. Now, follow through with it." His voice had become impatient, the pulse not as driving as it had been, but enough to prove his point.

Thrust, however, continued shaking his head. He began to wave his hands as well.

"Then I withdraw my compliment. I bid you farewell, useless spawn of Primus."

A tentacle shot up from below Thrust. He saw it and flew out of its way just in time, causing it to hit the ceiling, thus blocking out a sliver of the red pillar and casting an eerie shadow on us for the duration of the few moments it needed to wriggle free. His form quickly became transparent as he began to teleport out. It was the only way out.

Before I knew what was happening, a huge hand was pinning me down to Hot Shot's shoulder protectively. A moment later, we clanged into a metallic surface, and a flash of multi-colored light burst through the cracks of the fingers, forcing me to bury my head in my arms as the pulsing cut off suddenly. I felt relief flow through me. At that point, I didn't care what was to happen next. All that mattered was that I had been freed from that hellish room and the monster that dwelled within.

XXXXXX

"Mercy!"

The hand was removed as Thrust's cry pierced into my com link.

Before us, Wheeljack had the coward in a choking grip, threatening to break his neck. Thrust had his head thrown back as his fingers struggled futilely to pry Wheeljack's off.

Next to us, Hot Shot held the sniper rifle threateningly, his teeth gritted.

Carlos looked around. "Where are we?"

Not caring much for Thrust's welfare, Rad and I each took a look, our Mini-Cons joining in. The patch of land we were standing on was barren, its dark blue metal surface cracked and dry like skin. It was disgusting to look at.

Stretched out against the horizon were mountains, plateaus, and other varying landforms, all crafted out of metal as well. Structures, most of which barely seemed to stand, dotted them spasmodically. A rather large spasm leaped up from the far western side. Coming from it were bursts were bright red, yellow, orange, white, and blue bursts of fire. Floating above it were thin silver vessels that shot bright pink and purple rays into it.

"I think we're back on Cybertron." Rad replied softly.

"It's strange, isn't it? You'd think we'd be terrified to come back to a place like this, yet we're happy." I mused, ignoring Thurst's whining. Wheeljack must have released his throat.

"Hey, that look familiar to you guys?" Carlos asked, extending a finger.

We followed it upwards to see a dark blue moon with what looked like a giant eyeball on it not too far from the planet we were on. We shuddered as the memory of the chase involving it and us came back once more in our minds.

Grindor tensed. "That is Unicron, Carlos."

"But he isn't at his full strength yet." Sureshock chimed in briskly.

Rad asked, "When will he be?"

Highwire slowly picked up Rad's hand, and extended it toward the far-off battlefield. "When one side possesses all three weapons."

Grindor followed suit with Carlos's. "When the hatred is at its strongest."

Finally, Sureshock picked up mine. "When banding together brings only death."

We three humans exchanged shocked looks for a moment.

I wanted so badly to drop everything, fly back home to Earth, and hide under the covers of my bed, but that wasn't turning out to be a possibility.

Rad looked over his shoulder at Hot Shot to see if he had heard us. We followed suit, realizing that we hadn't been paying attention to whether or not it had been silent during parts of our conversation with the Mini-Cons.  
He had a troubled look on his face as he looked back at us. "What's going on?"

"You have to listen to me! I know how Unicron works! I-" Thrust's cries were cut off by a hit from Wheeljack.

"Well, we know for certain that he's going to be nothing but trouble for us. Think we should get rid of him?" his captor asked, raising an optic ridge.

Thrust let out a cry of terror and began hastily begging for his life.

As Wheeljack poised to hit him again, Hot Shot murmured reluctantly, "Thrust is a pain in the aft, but I don't think we should decide whether to get rid of him or not. The higher-ups may want to ask him some questions."

As soon as he said that, Jolt walked over to his ear and whispered into it. Hot Shot's expression switched from unhappy to surprised, then back to unhappy again.

I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Wind Sheer doing the same to Wheeljack with the exact reactions. It was perfectly timed.

The two mechs exchanged a knowing look as Thrust watched nervously. Wheeljack's hand was like a vice on his arm, so he wasn't getting anywhere soon. Well, alone at least. Rad, Carlos, the Mini-Cons, and I watched silently as the atmosphere became thick with apprehension.

"Well, who should do the honors?"Wheeljack asked hollowly.

"Honors?! Wh-what honors?" the flyer cried out hysterically, trying to jerk himself away.

It was Incinerator's turn to whisper in Hot Shot's ear. The yellow mech gave him a curt nod, and the Mini-Con gave a salute and walked back to his position next to Jolt.

"Wait, what did he tell you?!" Thrust screamed.

"He said I can shoot you." Hot Shot growled back, an angered expression masking his face.

"Wait! I said I could be useful!" Thrust was beside himself with fear.

"Yeah, useful as spare parts." Wheeljack hissed, smacking the back of his head.

"The Mini-Cons told you that, didn't they?! Don't listen to them! They lie! They all lie! They're all made by Unicron to kill you! Please listen to me! Please!"  
Inferno, Thrust's Mini-Con, let out an indignant cry and leaped to Wheeljack's shoulder.

"Asshole." Carlos mumbled. Rad and I agreed with that description.

Hot Shot paused for a moment, and then asked, "So? We already knew that."

Thrust was completely taken aback. "You al-Well, uh, you see, that is, erm…."

"Think we heard enough, Hot Shot?" Wheeljack growled.

His reply was a curt nod and a release of the trigger. The rifle blasted into Thrust, who unceremoniously fell to the ground as Wheeljack let go of him, with a gaping, energon-spewing hole in his chest and his babbling mouth hanging open, energon gushing from that as well.

"Good riddance." the black mech murmured bitterly, spitting on him.

It was one of the few killings that didn't disturb any of us. In fact, we actually cheered for a few moments.

The optimistic mood was hastily dropped as we explained the information our Mini-Cons had detailed to us.

The two mechs stared out at the moon.

"Well, I'll be damned." Wheeljack whispered.

"So, what do we do to stop this?" Carlos asked.

That left a long silence, broken only by Wind Sheer taking a swipe at Inferno for doing something that was customary of the habits that he'd picked up from Thrust. Their carrier separated them with a hand.

"We fix problems like that." Hot Shot replied.

"Between everyone? Do you know how long that will take?" Wheeljack asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"I don't see any other ideas." I said gloomily with a groan, suddenly feeling as if I was at the top of a rollercoaster hill, and the car was about to go down even though the track was unfinished.

"In that case, adios amigos." Carlos's comment was scarily appropriate.


	23. Chapter 23

Okay, we're finally back in Starscream's POV. Can you believe that I actually wrote this chapter in two days? it's long one, but that's becuase there is a fight scene in it, and some character development for Blitzwing and Elita as well. I don't own Transformers.

"It vould be in our best interest if ve go now." I heard Blitzwing murmur solemnly.

That was when I realized that I could hear him, but I couldn't see him. I had dozed off somehow.

I slowly opened my eyes and raised my head to see a ghostly illumination of him leaning by his shaking right arm against the entrance to our pitiful little base camp, his teeth clenched hard, and his enlarged optic pulsing in my direction with a sense of urgency to it.

My drowsiness disappeared immediately to be replaced with alarm. He had spotted the bounty hunter. Slag. All I could hope for was that the hunter hadn't seen him as well.

Looking back now, I can see how ludicrous it was to listen to a mech that wasn't quite there when it had come to a life or death situation. But the facts that he looked so genuinely scared, and that my sense of reality had been warped beyond any recognition at that point in time, was enough for me then.

I wondered how Elita was reacting to this. She really had no backup, save for a multi-sided asylum escapee, a Mini-Con that was practically helpless on his own, and although it kills me to say this, a hybrid that was smaller than her littlest finger. She was nowhere near her optimum level, and it was being generous to say that she had at least half of her original strength. And there was no promise that she would continue to have her large amount of luck that she'd received in the past.

I couldn't help but feel a smirk creep up on my face as I glanced up at her. Optimus didn't fare too well mentally when things went out of his control, and although Elita proved she could handle things on her own, I knew even she had a breaking point too. And after enduring her being all high-and-mighty with me earlier, I was ready to see her get knocked down a peg.

The smirk held for a little while, but it slowly fell.

Elita's lips parted slightly to let out a weary breath, her once fierce optics clouded with worry. Her face creased slightly, revealing the sporadic gray imperfections of it caused by past stress and abuse that heavily contrasted the smooth whiteness. I felt my hand move up subconsciously to touch my own scars on my face, but I realized that I was wearing a helmet, and let it drop. Whatever amount of fear she had pent up inside was completely released in that painful expression. Unlike Optimus, she didn't have the luxury of a mask to hide her agony. Instead of finding this funny, I actually felt something in common with her: we both had to hide things to save face. She had had to keep her army together, and I had had to avoid being taken advantage of by my own team members, whether I was a Decepticon or an Autobot. Optimus was of course no help to Elita, and Alexis…She just didn't understand what it was like to be completely ostracized. And I was glad that she didn't.

When she got a hold of herself, I let that thought go. Elita may have had to deal with the stress and guilt of living day-to-day, all the time wondering how her troops are doing without her, but it had been her choice in the first place to lead. Meanwhile, I hadn't had a choice.

She nodded. "All right, let's get going."

Elita looked down for a moment to see if I was awake, and then placed Swindle next to me on her shoulder. He was wide awake, having slept longer than me.

"Boy, won't this be fun." I muttered sarcastically as our carrier headed towards Blitzwing.

Swindle let out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, about as much fun as it was to explain to these two what was going on while you were out. Believe it or not, Blitzwing's crazy side was first one to get it."

I couldn't help it. I doubled over and started laughing, my arms clutching my chest. All I could think of was my Mini-Con pacing back and forth, waving his arms frantically and trying to get out at least a few words that could be understood by either of the two, and ultimately failing.

Swindle punched me, and Elita rolled her optics. Blitzwing tapped his fingers impatiently against the wall.

"Are jou quite finished, Starscream?" the triple changer asked in a monotone voice as I took a break to breathe.

I shrugged noncommittally.

Elita let out an exasperated sigh. "It's a good thing you are so small. Otherwise you would have been easily heard."

My humor went away, and I growled, "I didn't need to hear that." I think I can say that by then it was blatantly obvious that I was little. She was just trying to scold me as if I was a naughty sparkling.

She let out a chuckle and continued on her way, stopping when she was next to Blitzwing, and looking out at the desolate area. He turned to look back out as well.

"Where did you last see him?" she whispered to him without breaking her optic contact with the assorted junk.

Blitzwing pointed off to the left. "See zhose remains of zhat building vay over zhere? I saw him crouched zhere."

Elita gritted her teeth. "So you don't know if he saw you or not?"

"Nein. He vas too far avay to tell properly."

I watched her lower her face and cover it with her hand to think for a moment, my eyebrow raising slightly.

I felt Swindle tense up slightly. I turned my head and began to reassure him. "Relax, it's farther off than you think."

Personally, I still felt a little nervous, but at least I could sort of figure out where our new enemy was, even though he had probably moved in the time it had taken Blitzwing to get back and warn us. Plus there was my laughing episode slowing us down… Yeah, the key words there were "sort of."

Elita raised her head. "Okay, the only option we have is to head to the right and make our way out in that direction."

"It's too bad I can't fly," Blitzwing lamented, "He'd hear me."

I let out a groan as his face spun to reveal his crazy persona. "Zh-"

Elita clamped her free hand over his mouth. It vibrated underneath her hand, indicating that he was laughing.

"Will you please knock it off?" I complained.

She let go as his head spun again. His somewhat sane personality responded, "Sorry."

"We're dead." Swindle moaned. I was finding it easy to agree with him.

XXXXXX

It was hard for Elita and Blitzwing to keep quiet as they crept through the dump, keeping as carefully to the shadows as they could.

Elita held her gun, an old beast that needed a serious polish, close to her chest with her right hand.

Blitzwing had his over-the-shoulder cannons, their chipped, elongated shafts beginning to droop slightly years without tune-ups, swiveling and pointing at whatever little sound was made. He had a tired expression on his face, which grew worse and worse with each sound passed. He was trying to stay in control of his personalities.

Most of the sounds were actually caused by the movements of the two and would have seemed harmless on a normal basis. This definitely wasn't a normal basis. I held my breath on numerous occasions when one of them stumbled over a chunk of metal from a fallen building, or when something was bumped. They might as well have been gunshots. After a while, I was starting to think that this bounty hunter had to be deaf not to know we were moving around.

Swindle and I looked around, in opposite directions, having nothing else better to do. He took the left, and I took the right. The more I looked the more I was finding myself regretting ever coming to this slag heap.

"What the hell was I thinking?" I muttered softly.

"Huh?" Swindle whispered.

I glanced up to see if Elita had heard us, but I highly doubted it. She showed no indication of being focused on anything but the layout of the land around her.

"If I would've stayed on the Axalon, we wouldn't be skulking around like cowards in this pathetic excuse for a city." I hissed.

"The only other choice was to stay out of the action, but I know you well enough to say that wasn't gonna be an option." Swindle replied with slight a joking tone.

I smiled a little. "Nah. You're right about that one."

And then it suddenly dropped off as a nasty thought entered my head. I shook my head out, trying to clear it, cursing all the while.

"What's the matter?" my Mini-Con asked.

I waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing."

He and I both knew very well that that was a lie.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it, Starscream?" he asked again.

I shook my head, seriously wanting to drop this before it got any worse. "Not this time, Swindle, okay?"

He started to protest again, but it died in his throat. He nodded slowly.

Luckily for me, it did go away for the moment. It had been the thought that if I hadn't been trapped in this stupid hybrid body by Alexis's rock, I wouldn't've been having to deal with this slag right then. But that would mean regretting saving her from Galvatron in the first place, and as angry as I was with her for taking Optimus's side with things, I could never allow myself to say that I wanted her dead. In fact, if I was given the choice, I'd've wanted me dead instead of her. I guess that means that I would've rather been dead. Whatever. The point was that I was in this situation, and brooding about it wasn't going to change a thing.

And just as soon as it went away, a shot exploded. Elita lurched forward suddenly with cry, sending Swindle and me flying. Something clattered to the ground, and another shot went off. It was probably her gun that time.

"Grab on!" I yelled at Swindle in mid-air, swooping upwards and spinning around to face who had shot at us.

Whoever he was, he was big. His scarlet optics were set in a white face had strange dark markings on it, his mouth drawn up in arrogant smirk. Typical. The rest of his body was black and green striped with spikes set in different parts of it. One of his hands wasn't there. Instead, there was a hook in its place. In the middle of his chest was a hollow where his faction emblem had once been, and it looked suspiciously like an Autobot insignia, which was weird. Usually the Autobots painted theirs on. Apparently this mech had wanted to make himself look like a hardaft by branding himself. Guess that hadn't turned out to be the best choice for him. I never really knew too much about the bounty hunting circuit, so I didn't have a clue who he was. That only added to the intensity to the moment. Oh joy.

About fifty yards from him was Elita, who was currently on the ground, her gun next to her, grunting and struggling against a thick rope around her chest that bound her arms to her sides tightly.

"Jou!" Blitzwing snapped, now in his angry persona.

"Well, whaddaya know? I go looking for one payment, and I get everything in one shot," the bounty hunter proclaimed with a laugh, "How long has it been, Blitzwing? I see you're still malfunctioning as usual."

The triple changer simply growled in return, clenching his fists. He took a step to the side, closer to where Elita was lying and I was floating with Swindle.

Even though I knew I couldn't stay in the air forever, I wasn't sure if I wanted to land on Blitzwing's shoulder or not. I didn't know if I could trust him.

The hunter walked casually forward, ducking slightly to avoid a blast of fire from his target's twin cannons. "That the best you can do?"

Blitzwing gritted his teeth and fired unsuccessfully again. This time the hunter broke into a run, rushing at him.

I looked over at Swindle, who shrugged and nodded. This wasn't going too well, and there was only one way that could be changed.

Elita saw the little exchange from on the ground, and yelled, "Starscream, don't you think about it!"

I flew down to where she was and landed, letting Swindle get off.

"Relax, I'll come back. Just make him quit firing like a maniac." I ordered as the light from the third burst of Blitzwing's cannons threw itself on her and Swindle, making it seem as if they were melting.

Without waiting for her reply, I swooped back up in the air and back flipped, flinging my head up to see the bounty hunter, who had cut the distance away from us in half by then.

I zoomed toward him, wishing I had something to cover myself in case Elita hadn't been able to stop Blitzwing in time. Sweat poured down my neck at the thought of me catching fire midflight.

Luckily, I needn't have worried. No fourth burst came.

What I did have to worry about was the fact that I the sharp end of a giant hook coming towards my left wing.

I flipped to the side to avoid impaling myself, and ended up getting swept into the bounty hunter's hand with the curve of his hook. His fingers forced me to sit down on his palm. I felt completely embarrassed.

"Who the frag are you, anyway?" I hissed.

"I think I should be the one asking that question," he replied mockingly, making me seethe, "The name's Lockdown."

"You let him go now!" Elita screamed. I looked away from Lockdown's disgusting face to see Blitzwing, once again blue-faced, had broken the ropes off of her with his ice cannons. She was now standing up, with her gun back in her one hand and Swindle sitting in her other. She looked angry, and while Blitzwing did too, it was much tamer than when he was red-faced. I noticed his clenched fists shaking slightly and realized he was trying to keep himself from switching again. Poor mech.

"And why, may I ask, would you want this thing back?" Lockdown asked in a bored tone.

"I'm not a thing! I have a name!" I snapped.

He lifted a finger above one of my wings and looked over the Autobot symbol for a moment. Then he laughed again. "I suppose you're running so low on recruits that you make anything that can say more than three words and has metal on its metal on its body one of you? I'm happy that I quit."

"I'm not just some little throwaway thing! My name is Starscream, get it, you piece of slag?" I roared in response, trying to force myself to my feet. I almost had it, but I fell on my backside at the last moment.

"Oh, really?" His optics widened with curiosity. "That is interesting."

He then looked back over at the others. "Well, that changes things, doesn't it? Let's see here, I have my old friend with the fried circuits. How something like that is so valuable, I'll never know. But what I do know is there a quite a few who would want to place their hands in it and have a good look around. I probably could buy myself a lifetime supply of mods with that money."

Blitzwing's entire body had begun to shake, and Elita clapped a hand down on his shoulder to steady him.

Lockdown paid him no mind and flicked his gaze down at me. "Speaking of which, I'll bet those exact same ones would like to know how you manage to survive in that tiny body, not to mention how much I would get for catching Galvatron's new pet."

"You wouldn't dare!" I yelled angrily, breathing hard, my vision turning red.

He sneered. "Try me."

He then continued. "I see that little Mini-Con on your shoulder, Elita. As much as they are worth, I don't think I'll sell him. I want to have my own little go with his powers."

"NO YOU WON'T!" I bellowed, struggling hard against his fingers. If I could only reach my wingsword… But his fingers were too heavy. I was so enraged that I didn't care. He had no right to come in and dictate what was going to happen to us. He was just like Galvatron in that sense.

A final squeeze forced me to stop me to stop because of the pain, and Elita gasped. I could very well bet that Swindle was letting out a shrill beeping noise, but he was too small and too far away to be heard. As much as I hated to admit I needed help at that point, the situation was making it impossible for me not to. But I knew that if either her or Blitzwing came to get me, they would be falling into Lockdown's provocation trap. Slag.

"And that finally brings me to you, Elita-One. I'm not sure what I should do with you. If I handed you over to Galvatron's forces, I wouldn't need to hunt again. But where would the fun in that be? Maybe it would be more beneficial to me if I gave you over to a brothel."

"NEIN!"

I flinched at Blitzwing's outburst. His red face had returned, shoving Elita backwards so that she was standing behind him.

"JOU VILL NOT HARM MEIN ELITA!" he screamed.

My eyes widened. That was one of the ultimate taboos to break as a transformer: never pursue someone who is already bonded. Seeing as how Elita was as surprised as I was, it looked as if Blitzwing's feelings were one-sided. Lockdown showed no sign of surprise. Instead, he simply looked ready to laugh again.

"And what makes you think you'll stop me?" the bounty hunter challenged.

Blitzwing let out a roar and charged at him, despite the fact that Elita and I were yelling at him to stop.

He yelled in pain as Lockdown's hook caught the right side of his throat, making a diagonal slit from there to the top part of his chest before stopping, having gotten caught on something. Energon began to spill from the wound, its bright pink color lighting up their two faces eerily.

When Blitzwing saw it, he switched to his black face and laughed hysterically. "Ooo, look how pretty!"

"Stop it! Leave them alone!"Elita's words came with her gunfire, one of the shots grazing Lockdown's shoulder.

He winced slightly and flung Blitzwing to the ground, growling, "I'll come back for you later."

As he began to stalk away from the triple change, however, I saw Blitzwing push himself up, raising a dust-caked blue face groggily. The impact had knocked his "sense" back into him.

Meanwhile, Elita had crouched to the ground with Swindle in her free hand. She was circling Lockdown carefully.

He let out an annoyed sigh. "Oh, please, must we go through this?"

He picked up a rod of steel with his hook flung it at the remains of a building behind her, causing the front part of it to collapse. She let out a cry as it struck her back, dragging her down.

"Too easy," he muttered in a disappointed tone.

"Not quite," came Blitzwing's calm deathly voice from behind him.

Lockdown whipped around, I suddenly felt as if something cold was piercing through my suit. I threw my glance upward to see that his fingers were frozen and brittle.

With a mighty lurch, I broke himself free of the fingers, my captor groaning in pain as I did so.

Chunks of ice plunged down around me as I fell, trying to will the strength into my wings to get them to work. Freeing myself had taken more energy than I'd thought.

"Come on, come on!"

The effort paid off. The weightless sensation was torn from my body as my wings caught myself just before I hit the ground.

I quickly skirted Lockdown's feet and fly up to land on Blitzwing's shoulder, panting. A small pool of energon was at his feet, although his wound had stopped bleeding. He had frozen it shut. Some dust had probably gotten in it and infected it from when he was on the ground, anyway.

"Vhere iz Elita?" he whispered urgently as he carefully watched the bounty hunter, who was cradling his hand with a murderous glint in his optics.

As golden an opportunity it was to make a crack about his 'Mein Elita' outburst, I decided not to take it. "She's…stuck under some of that rubble there. Swindle is too."

Blitzwing gnashed his teeth, and I felt him beginning to shake again. "Okay, here iz vhat I vill do. I vill fly to zhem und help zhem. Jou, on zhe other hand, vill blind him for me."

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes." At that, he lifted off, nearly knocking me off his shoulder.

Lockdown shot up at Blitzwing from some weapon he had as he coasted over his head. I took my chance while he was distracted and had his head tilted up, and jumped. Flying down to land on his face.

I quickly drew my wingsword and dashed over to his left optic.

"Lights out." I hissed, bracing my feet apart and driving it into the red glass.

It broke easily, and energon gushed out of it, which I had to jump over as I ran over to his right optic. I felt an electric sense coarse through me at the hit, accelerating my heart rate and giving me a slight jump in my step. I was thrilled to be back in battle again. He let out a cry of pain and threw his head back down, but not before I drove my blade into the other one. Energon sprayed my suit and part of my helmet, and I gagged at the sight, the electricity within me breaking.

"Oh no." I whispered as my sword slipped free sending me plummeting down, the image of Lockdown burying his sightless face in his arm filling my vision.

I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed for help, knowing all too well that I probably would be slamming my back against the ground this time.

It didn't happen.

I opened my eyes to see Blitzwing staring down at me, his blue face seeming as if it was tightly pulled across the front of his head. He had his other hand on Lockdown's shoulder, who was still screaming in pain.

"I zhink it iz time for jou to join Elita and Swindle now," he said in a tight voice, gently lowering me back to the ground.

I nodded quickly, got up, retatched my wingsword, and ran off in Elita's direction. She was covered in dust and once again crouched defensively, but got up to pick me up as soon as she saw me running over.

Swindle leaped across to the hand I was on and gave me a quick hug, not caring that in doing so his already dirty body became coated with energon.

Rather than watch what Blitzwing was about to do to the bounty hunter, I stared up into Elita's ice blue optics, reminding me of my mother's. They were filled with relief. She stared back down at me.

"You should have listened to me," she murmured softly.

I shook my head and began to wipe off the energon with my arm. "If I would've done that, Lockdown's dirty little ideas would've probably become realities."

As soon as those words left my mouth, a haunting scream lit the air, and nothing more. Elita, Swindle, and I, however, made no movement but a knowing nod to each other.

Her expression suddenly became shocked as Swindle did so, and I smiled bitterly. She had finally realized that nobody, not even a Mini-Con, was innocent anymore.

NOTE: I actually didn't want to kill off Lockdown, but the plot wouldn't have worked out as well if I would have let him live. The fact that Blitzwing has feelings for Elita in this piece is a reference to the fact that I like the Blitzwing/Blackarachnia piaring in Transformers Animated.


	24. Chapter 24

All right, I am extremely sorry for not updating this story for so long. It was because the original way I had wanted to do this chapter had to be completely scrapped, meaning I had to come up with a new one out of the blue. That took a lot of time to do. I don't own Transformers or anything else I have mentioned, be it in these artist's comments or this chapter, that have been previously copyrighted.

* * *

"Out of their element" could not even begin to describe how Blitzwing and Elita were acting when we finally left that junkyard of a city.

Elita's optics darted around quickly over the rough metal landscape of the wasteland we were crossing through. It was too dangerous to simply walk forward. Instead, she crept from landform to landform.

Blitzwing flew overhead sporadically. He was on the lookout for any enemies in the distance.

There were two problems with that. The first was the fact that it was still very dark. Cybertron never really had "day" or "night" periods like on Earth. There was either a time when its surface was lighter or darker. And this was one of the darker times. Secondly, he was trying not to be trigger happy. We could tell on the ground that the stress of being out in the open was causing his personalities to clash, forcing him to land after short periods of time. A few words of frustration in a language I couldn't understand passed from him whenever he did. I really wanted to laugh at that, but I didn't.

While Swindle and I weren't as nervous as they were, we couldn't help but feel chills running down our spines as we looked around from where we rode on Elita's shoulder (I was conserving my energy to fly).

Jagged metal mountains cut into the horizon over us, gullies and fissures dropped below, and bits of rusted metal left over a battle that had taken place there were strewn everywhere. Let's face it: the scrap yard was a horrible place, but at least it had decent cover.

The lack of communication between us made it all the more unbearable. Just like before, we were practically in radio silence so we wouldn't get caught.

Looming in the distance were two cities, the one made of junk that we had just left, and the barely-standing Decepticon-ruled one we were headed toward, complete with the sounds of gunfire and bright lights of lasers shooting in every direction. Great, just great.

It was hard to look at where we were going for long. It was because whenever I did, I felt something hurting in what was left of my spark.

Alexis…What was happening to her? Was she all right? I knew she wouldn't have wanted to be kept away from the battle when her friends were fighting in it, but this was something much different. How could anyone be able to keep track of her in the middle of everything? What would I do if I found out she was captured, or worse?

I shook my head. I couldn't be thinking about that, especially since I had argued against Optimus, who was overprotective to the point smothering, that the humans should be allowed to fight alongside the transformers. I wasn't ready to start talking out of different corners of my mouth, so I decided to swallow my feelings, or at least try to. Alexis could take care of herself. Still, no matter how reassuring those words sounded, I couldn't make myself feel completely convinced.

Swindle sensed my dread, and when he looked over, I turned my head. I wasn't tired of speaking with him. Far from it. I was tired, however, of him constantly serving as the trash can for my negative emotions.

Since he didn't say anything, he either got the hint, or didn't want to break the silence.

The walk just went on and on. At some point during it, I got so into the motion of Elita's movement that I dozed off.

XXXXXX

I felt a large finger nudging me awake, pulling me out of my (thankfully) dreamless sleep. I realized that my back was leaning against something cold and hard: Elita's neck.

I pushed myself into an upright sitting position to see Swindle slowly waking himself up next to me, Blitzwing in his controlled form bent down on his knee, and Elita looking down at me.

We were in a gulley, one close to the Decepticon-ruled city. I could easily tell because the flashes from explosions and gunfire had increased intensity. However, we were still far enough away that nothing was raining down on us.

"We all know the plan, correct?" Elita asked, breaking the silence. It was jarring to hear her voice after not having a word passed for so long.

So much so, in fact, that Blitzwing was startled into his angry mode. "Give me a varning next time!"

We each gave him annoyed looks, and his relaxed personality returned.

"Honestly, how do you think I was going to warn you?" Elita replied, raising an optic ridge.

She realized what was going to happen next, and quickly dodged the bullet. "On second thought, don't answer that."

Blitzwing smirked, and then replied, "as jou vere saying?"

She gave him a look, and repeated, "Everyone knows the plan, correct?"

We knew it was better than to just dash blindly into battle, so we (by "we" I mean mostly Elita) came up with a plan to "safely" join in the fight. I wasn't thrilled with it at all, the fact being that I was going to be carted over to the Autobot side, since I had no clue whether or not the Autobots considered humans to be useless or not.

He nodded slowly. "Yes. I vill fly on ahead und try to distract whoever I can."

"And?" She pressed.

Blitzwing didn't reply at once, and I easily saw it in his enlarged optic: the pain, the loneliness, the desperation. Yeah, he had three personalities, but they were all him, all different sides. He hadn't had another living being to interact with until Elita showed up. Suddenly I understood why he fell for her: she was the only one there. It was pitiful and outright sad to say the least.

"Und I vill disconnect any communication vith jou during zhe battle to avoid jour getting caught." He stated solemnly.

"Good, and Starscream?" She turned her head to look at me pointedly.

"Swindle and I stay with you." I replied plainly.

"Until?"

I let out a puff of air. "Until we meet up with the other Autobots."

She nodded, and then swept her optics around each of us. "Well, that's it, then. Let's go."

As emotionless as it sounded, it was the only thing that could be said.

Swindle and I looked back up at her. Blitzwing didn't.

As Elita raised her hand to pat Swindle reassuringly on the back, I glanced over at Blitzwing.  
I still had one task to fulfill: taking down Galvatron. Sure, I could take the easy way and be safe among the Autobots. Yeah, safe. Elita still unwaveringly believed in Optimus, despite the fact that reality had smacked her in the face for it. Enough said there. However, that wasn't an excuse to back down, especially after what I had learned.

My creators...Elita….Blitzwing…Alexis…Me…The list went on and on, and it had just about everyone I cared about, or cared for me, on it.

And of course, I couldn't possibly forget the abuse he put me through. Every blow, every insult, every degradation… No, I couldn't let this all go.

I probably was crazy, I'll admit it, given my current situation, but I had to finish this for my own sake. I was going to kill Galvatron, or die trying.

Sweat began to form on the back of my neck as I watched Blitzwing stand. He looked at Elita for a long time, all emotion fading away from his optics. His body quivered for a moment, indicating that one of his other sides was trying to take over.

I tensed, my human heart pounding in my ears. If he lost control of himself, my chance would be gone.

I knew Swindle was sensing my anxiety, but he didn't do anything that Elita could notice. For that, I was thankful. He had told me that he was behind me all the way, and he was holding true to his statement. I felt miserable that I couldn't say good bye to him, but if I broke my concentration by turning my gaze away from Blitzwing, I might miss my opportunity.

Luckily, Blitzwing got control of himself. He snapped a salute at her, which she returned curtly.

In the instant he transformed, I jumped off of Elita's shoulder.

I banked upwards as he did to leave the gully.

If Elita had yelled out after me, Blitzwing and I were going too far a distance away too quickly to hear her.

My thoughts were running at double speed, everything flashing together, my past, what could happen if my plan worked, and what would happen if I didn't.

I swung to the left to avoid being burned up in his jet flames, but didn't dare pass him up. If he saw me, that would be it.

Entering the battleground was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life.

The flashes of shots, flames, and smoke rising make it extremely hard to see where to go. For once, I had to be thankful that I was so little, otherwise it would have been much harder. There were so many ships and transformers in air above me. I wondered if Cyclonus was still whirling like the maniac he was with them, laughing his head off, or whether Jetfire had chosen to stay on the ground with Prime, or to take his chances in the air. Some were so low that they were scraping against (and occasionally knocking over) whatever remained of a building. Others were so high up that I could barely make out their outlines. I had never seen anything like it before, which was really saying something. And I hadn't even seen the land battle yet.

The noise and lack thereof of the battle would have thrown any new recruit. Screams from those on either side that had been wounded or killed rang in my ears, while the destructive shots and missiles were completely mute when they exploded because of the lack of air to carry the sound through. It made everything seem so surreal, like a vivid nightmare.

Blitzwing's frame was shuddering. He was having serious problems with his self-control , and for good reason, too. I didn't know how much longer he was going to be up.

A few moments later, he dropped to the ground, a tank. I took a quick look above me.

I was about to laugh in relief when I saw the remains of the buildings directly above me. I landed on one of the jutting steel bars to take a short break, taking care to stand near the massive support beam, since it was the strongest.

As I wound my arms around the support beam, my body heaving, I peered down at the scene below, my eyes widening.

The sheer amount of transformers, dead and alive, was startling. This really was the final battle. The amount of fighting, bodies was endless, their screams blurring into a single hum, with the air troops ridding over top of it. It would be sounding MUCH louder on their level.

I was able to point out some of those I knew, but barely.

Hot Shot's bright yellow color stood out easily, and I could see he was standing on top of the remains of a broke- down building with Sideswipe and Wheeljack (?). They each had gashes on their armor, and fired like madman down in different directions at those who were trying to climb up with them. I wondered darkly if all of those they were firing at really were all Decepticons.

I couldn't tell if Alexis and the others were with them; they would be too little to see. Besides, what could I do for them at that point?

What I also couldn't tell was how much longer they could last.

That was when I realized that Blitzwing most likely wasn't going to make it. The stark contrast between the isolated area and this chaotic fighting, combined with his battling mentalities, would be too stressful for him to concentrate properly.

My eyes narrowed. Elita had to have known this. Why didn't she stop him?

It came to me. She wouldn't be able to stop him. Just like me, he had his own battle to finish fighting. Unlike me, however, he didn't have to obey Elita, since he didn't have a faction. I was a little jealous of him because of that.

Soon, I found who I was looking for: Galvatron. Naturally, he was locked in a battle with Optimus, or rather, Jet Optimus.

The two of them looked like slag.

One of Galvatron's horns had broken off. He was panting hard, his body doubled over into a feral crouch, making his Fusion Cannon look like it was jutting out in an odd way. He was clenching the Requiem Blaster so tightly in one hand when he pointed it around himself out of sheer lust for a victim that I wondered if the Mini-Cons that formed it were screaming in pain. The other hand periodically went over a hit he had taken in his chest region. I grinned whenever the pain became too much for him to bear.

Jet Optimus, unlike Galvatron, wasn't in the middle of the fold, and for good reason; Jetfire wasn't at his maximum power, and it was affecting their combined form. I could plainly see that their combined form was having problems standing up straight. His legs were always bent from the exertion it caused him. He was also panting hard, the Star Saber held in a defensive stance against his chest. His free hand was gripping onto a hanging piece of metal both to steady himself and to keep himself from going into a protective ball.

Rather than having the luxury of circling one another undisturbed because of the extent of the battle.

My grip on the support beam tightened in anger as Galvatron picked up an Autobot that had dared to fire against him, whether directly or not. He held the poor bastard in the air and shot him with the Blaster. The shot actually went through him and into one of the Seekers (whether it was an Autobot or Decepticon, I couldn't tell). Whatever remained of him or her fell onto a nearby skyscraper, bringing it down with it. As for the mech in question, Galvatron simply tossed his remains was about the same time that Jet Optimus leapt on him with the Star Saber, slicing across his back. I couldn't completely hear Galvatron's scream, but the way he reared his head was enough to know how much pain he was in. But luckily, the blow wasn't enough to kill him; the one who struck it was too tired to have enough force behind it.

A shot exploded in a burst of white light into the building next to me, rocking it and the building I was standing on. It was time to move.

I took a breath and jumped, throwing my body downwards. Although it would have taken less out of me to simply freefall, it was a horrible idea to do so.

I winced as I flew over the mass of writhing bodies, their voices now amplified so much that was threatening to shatter my ears. It wasn't that I hadn't been in any bad battles before; it was that this one was so desperately fought.

I noticed Ironhide on the ground, beating the slag out of a cowering Demolishor with only one fist. He would have used both if his other arm wasn't a stump. And Demolishor wouldn't have been cowering and trying to fight back blindly if his optics hadn't been smashed.

A nearby shrill scream made me jerk my head around, and now I'm glad it did, otherwise I wouldn't have been the shot coming. I jolted upwards to avoid being hit by it. I never knew whether it was just a stray or not, but what I did know is the fact that it almost killed me, I was bearing the sweat and heat to prove it.

I decided not to get distracted by what was happening below again, and instead fixed my full attention on my target. Besides, what would looking down and mourning do? Battles happened, and not everyone lived through them. It had been a lot easier to embrace that idea before I had spent my time on Earth.

I flew in a circular motion around him and Jet Optimus, trying both to analyze Galvatron's weak points and avoid being seen by either or taking a stray hit.

I was nearly thrown off when Jet Optimus rose in the air above Galvatron, I could've sworn he saw me. I froze for a moment, staring up at his red optics and gulping, but in the next moment he flew out of the way to avoid being shot by the Requiem Blaster, which took out three Seekers from the armada above. Jet Optimus didn't even look up; he was too engrossed in what he was doing.

And suddenly I understood it: they had been fighting one another for so long that they weren't paying attention to what they were doing to the others nearby. That meant the longer I dawdled, the more chance I had of being killed. Primus, what was with all this moving fast? I was surprised my body was handling that much stress at once.

"Okay, here goes." I said it, but I didn't hear my own words over the voices on the com link. Again, I had to be happy I wasn't a recruit.

I sped forwards. My idea to take Galvatron down was ludicrous, but it was the only one I had. Oh frag, what was I getting myself into?

From the building, I hadn't seen how bad a condition Galvatron had been in. Up close, however, I saw that he had many nasty wounds in his body, The one I had seen him covering up before was directly above his fusion cannon. It wasn't clotting properly because it was too deep. The energon it dripped onto the weapon oozed slowly off of it, making the weapon look all the more gruesome.

And that same wound was exactly where I was headed.

Galvatron didn't have the chance to cover the gash when I flew toward it; his hand was busy fending off his old enemy, who was trying a frontal attack with the Star Saber. Neither of them noticed me, so I flew right in.

I had never dreamed I was ever going to say this, but I will today: I was now inside Galvatron's energon tract.

It wasn't a very pleasant place to be. The tunnel lunged every so often whenever a large hit was taken from the outside, complete with a loud clashing noise of metal against metal (sound could travel again because there was air inside his body). Galvatron's and Jet Optimus's insults to each and groans of pain rung hard in my com link. The force of the energon flowing out threatened to take me with it, and the pressure was already doing a number on my body in such a short amount of time. I was actually glad I was wearing a spacesuit, otherwise I would've drowned immediately. At the same time, however, it was bogging down on me.

I struggled out of the disgusting substance and into the air, glancing around frantically for a way out. I felt very tired, and knew it wouldn't be longer until my wings would give on me. I noticed a tear in the side of it, illuminated by the bright pink color of the energon. It most likely had formed because the Star Saber had the power to cut hard enough into Galvatron's body. It was wide enough that I could fit through, wings and all, with ample room, but not low enough to the tunnel's floor for any of the energon to get in. Obviously, the slash had been botched, or the tear would have been much cleaner.

I ducked my head down and flew into it, just barely clearing the top and bottom. It hadn't been very tall by any means.

The room I had entered also periodically shook whenever Galvatron was struck, but it had none of the tension that the previous one had. This one was also very dark, though its illumination was much more sporadic in placement and color. The com link had gone completely silent because of the thick metal that was preventing the signal from getting through.

I landed harder on the floor than I had intended to, which felt painful because it was made of hard metal.

I lay there until a hard blow sent me into the nearby wall with a thump. The helmet I was wearing miraculously didn't break because my arm was in front of it.

I pushed myself to a sitting position and took it off to clean it after rubbing one of my sleeves partly dry on the floor beneath me. While it was off, I put my hair into a new ponytail and peeled the now useless gauze strip off of my forehead, tossing it at the computer screen nearest to me but unfortunately not with enough strength to hit it.

As I did so, I looked up to see the source of the lights, and I felt my pulse skip a beat in excitement.

The lights were partly coming from large computer screens posted all around on the room, some hanging from the ceiling, others built into a smooth platform that was about six feet up. I was sitting half in a gold square cast by on the computers on the ceiling. Even then, Galvatron still looked down on me.

But that didn't matter then. What did matter what was on the platform: his spark chamber.

No computer dared throw a light on Galvatron's spark from where it sat on its metal throne, comprised of a hard titanium floor and two solid titanium arches. Its bright scarlet light burned angrily, throwing its light on the pillars, the floor, and the nearby walls. It was too stubborn to give in the heat of battle despite the grave circumstances, just as he was. Galvatron lived for the sake of war, and his dream death would be to fall in battle.

As much as I wanted to marvel at the fact that against all odds I had made it to my goal, I couldn't.

It would waste time and make me lose focus. I could celebrate later.

I replaced my helmet. As soon as I was done, would have to leave quickly. Oh joy, again with the fast movements.

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down, and flew up onto the platform, landing gently. The spark towered high above my head. I didn't have to worry about any defense systems kicking in; those were all for the less vital parts of the body. Funny, the most important thing to a transformer was most unguarded.

The breath hadn't done much to steady me. My transformer spark and human heart were pumping hard in unison as I removed my wingsword turning it over to look at more properly.

My eyes were easily drawn to the jagged scar cutting across my forehead, courtesy of Galvatron's claw. My thin, cracked lip curled angrily at the prospect that I would have it forever. My skin, so pale in color, had easily switched over to crimson in the overpowering color of the room. It was framed by my black hair, greasy with sweat. Near my hairline, odd-looking little lumps Alexis had called zits were forming on my skin.

My stomach growled, making me look down. I had been living on the energon ever since I had woken up in the city of junk. The hunger pangs were painful, but they didn't make me fall over, unlike the last time. I guessed it was because I was more used to my hybrid body, meaning it could live on either. When I first got my body, I needed both.

I could feel my heart and spark thumping and pulsing in unison, my stress level forcing them to.  
The energon-splattered glove that was holding the wingsword up covered my hand, as pale as my face. It had the Autobot insignia on it, but it wasn't emblazoned. It was part of my skin, part of me. If the skin on there ever had to regrow itself, it would have the exact same design.

I fought hard to keep my balance as yet another blow shook the room. In this little body, I was at the mercy of what was happening outside.

And together, these details formed a hateful-looking creature.

"Look at me, I'm repulsive." I hissed, jerking the blade to my side and snapping my head up at Galvatron's spark chamber to glare at it.

"AND IT'S ALL. YOUR. FAULT!" I yelled as I stamped toward it, each word punctuating a step.

I stopped before it, my eyes squeezed shut against the bright light, spread my feet apart to brace myself, bared my teeth, and stabbed into the spark.

The blade shot through quickly, making me stumble forwards a little with a cry of surprise, startled at the fragility of it for a moment.

Soon, however, a grin formed on my face as I pushed harder into it, the red pieces of his spark falling to the floor as I did so.

Some of them didn't all end up on the floor. I let out cries of agony as a couple of them sliced into my spacesuit.

Still, I kept pushing. The computers behind me began making alarm sounds, indicating there was something wrong.

I knew very well that my arms and legs were bleeding. I could feel the warm liquid flowing down from them as each jagged shard pierced into me.

I didn't care. I bit my tongue hard and it two more good shoves, and then fell to my knees, my weight taking my wingsword down with me.

I had thought I could do it all on my own, but in the end, it wasn't true. I was too tired to finish what I'd started, and there wasn't much I could do about it.

Frustration built up in me. Was this all I was going to accomplish, after all that had happened to me at his hands?

Suddenly, it was broken as the room pitched violently, sending me skidding halfway down the platform.

My eyes popped open, and I saw that Galvatron's spark was beginning to disintegrate, its intact pieces falling through the slice I had made, though small it was. The crimson light was slowly dying away.

I smiled, feeling as if a gigantic weight had finally been taken off of my shoulders.

"I win, Galvatron." I whispered, and then let out a gasp of surprise as another hard shock smacked the room, pitching me down and off the platform.

For a few moments, I was in complete free fall, the alarms of the computers still blaring loudly.

The floor hurt, but it was mostly my wings that took the blow, sparing my helmet and back from breaking.

The impact was too jarring for me to scream. Instead, I let out a low groan, and tried to breathe in.

The first two tries failed, which made me nervous, but the third finally worked. I had really had the wind knocked out of me.

I painfully tried to move my arms and my legs, but they wouldn't respond. All they did was bleed and cause me to gasp in even more excruciating torment from trying to use them. My wings worked a little since they were made of a tougher material, but they were aching even more than my human parts. I knew they would be out for a while.

Now I really was afraid, afraid that I was paralyzed. I silently prayed to Primus that it wasn't true, but my body (save for my chest, neck, and head) continued to be useless. I hissed in misery the room pitched again, sending me skidding across the floor. The room was now tilted upwards. What was I going to do? I had thought it would be simple; attack and go. I hadn't (as usual) thought to make up a back-up plan.

Well, I had said that I was going to kill him, or die trying, but was I really going to die this way, badly injured and alone inside the shell of the freak I hated? I didn't want to admit it, but it was really looking like that. I guessed I was coward just like the rest of them, the only difference being that my life was more fragged up than theirs were. Still, after all I had been through, everything I found out, all the lessons I learned, all of those who I had found out actually gave a slag about me, was it really all going to amount to this? I was so fed up with everything, but the rage simply had to boil inside because there was nothing to take it out on but myself. Again.

I was unexpectedly jolted out of my lovely little self-evaluation by a nasty ripping noise. Metal, some of the monitors, and energon spilled down onto the floor as the Star Saber blade came through. I tried n vain to push myself out of the way, and was rewarded by more pain, smaller bits of metal, and more energon soaking me for my efforts.

The wall, or rather, Galvatron's armor plating, curved forwards perfectly. The light from outside and Galvatron's guturral screams in my com link broke in almost instantly. Some of the light fell on me. And framed against the light on the outside was Jet Optimus, who looked completely surprised for some reason, his optics searching around as if this was truly real.

They eventually fell on me. At first, a look of shock passed through them. It was quickly followed by anger for disobeying his direct orders, and finally, concern for my wounds.

I felt that same gentle, pure smile on my face again. I was truly free. It really was over. I could live my life now. Yeah, I was going back to prison, but I could run away again. They couldn't keep me trapped forever. I could fix things with Alexis now that I didn't have Galvatron hanging over me. I wasn't worried about her being hurt anymore; she was a tough girl. After all, she was mine. I could easily get Swindle back from Elita because she now owed me one for killing her tormentor. I knew very well she couldn't have been killed because her determination to live was too great, and she had a stable mind, unlike Blitzwing. Hell, I could even get out of prison clean for killing Prime's worst enemy and bringing his mate back to him. He now owed me, too.

It was funny that the being I was most happy to see were the ones that I had disliked so much: my Autobot leaders, Optimus Prime, that weak bleeding-spark, and Jetfire, that arrogant tailpipe.

I remember Jet Optimus slowly reaching his hand out to me, and then image fading away, taking my good feelings with it.


	25. Chapter 25

This is my longest chapter of the story. I'm sorry for its length, but it is about the battle itself. Enough said. Whatever is not explained here will be explained later. I do not own Transformers.

-Alexis's POV-

Six days. That's how long Rad, Carlos, and I were in the midst of the battle. It felt like five years to me. I have to be both thankful and sad that we didn't have to spend an additional day there like Billy and Fred had to.

True, I had been in the battle earlier, but it had only been for a short amount of time, and I had been able to turn my head away. This, however, was much different. I can't say exact details about one given day of the five, as they seemed to run together. I was too busy to really pay attention to whether or not it was "day" or "night" on Cybertron. Sleep did nothing to show that passage of time either, since I either had no time to sleep, or simply passed out whenever a chance was given. I still can't say how accurate these "days" are, so I'll separate them by sequence of events.

XXXXXX

The first day we reunited with our friends.

Reentering the battle was extremely hard, scary, and practically suicidal.

Hot Shot and Wheeljack had transformed into their vehicle forms and sped over the terrain, carrying us inside. Instead of combining with Jolt to gain more speed, Hot Shot simply had him ride with us. He didn't want to leave Wheeljack behind. Since we only had so much room, Sureshock and Grindor had to go with Wind Sheer, Inferno, and Incinerator inside of Wheeljack. At least Inferno would be too scared to start anything with the other Mini-Cons. Saying that space was limited would have been an understatement. Blurr's rifle was attached to the right side of the car, giving Hot Shot more of a reason to attempt to be careful while driving.

We let out yelps of surprise and fear every time a shot landed near us, but luckily we didn't take any real damage. Still, that didn't mean we weren't hunched over in fear, complete with we three humans biting our nails. Our seatbelts kept us firmly in place over the hard bumps, and hurt each time they pulled us back.

I can remember how hard my heart pounded as we drew closer to the city's skeletal form, its beating drowning out Rad's, Carlos's, and my yells, and the beeping of the Mini-Cons. The rattle of the gunfire separated by the flimsy barrier of Hot Shot's door was the only thing that overrode the noise.

Each time I looked away from the city, I either saw a flying transformer currently in battle, or the ghastly eye of Unicron. Neither sight was better to look at. As much as I wanted to bury my head in my hands, I couldn't.

Hot Shot and Wheeljack halted when they arrived under the shelter of one of the buildings on the outskirts of the city. It was still standing firmly, since it had taken little damage.

"Jump out!" Hot Shot yelled. We did so, and it caused us to spill sloppily from our panic. We probably did look funny, with Rad laying half on me and half on Carlos, and the Mini-Cons in their own brightly-colored heap. Of course, no one was in the mood to laugh.

Hot Shot quickly scooped us up in one hand, while he pulled his gun out with the other. The sniper rifle remained at his belt. He held up his hand to allow us to scramble onto his shoulder.

While Wheeljack fired at any enemy that came close, Hot Shot tried to contact Optimus to tell them we were all right via com link.

"We have a lot to tell you about what happened, sir!" Hot Shot exclaimed.

The response he got wasn't what he was looking for, since his face fell.

"Yes sir." Hot Shot replied in a deflated tone.

"That didn't sound good." Carlos commented.

Hot Shot shook his head. "He said he's sorry, but there isn't time to worry over that now. He was delighted to hear we were back, though."

Rad frowned. "Well, it was worth a try."

"But what about Unicron?" I asked worriedly.

Hot Shot let out a sigh, turning so we could better look over the whole of the battle: the spilled energon, the fires burning, and the bodies silhouetted against the flames either battling upright or screaming in pain. I wanted to cut my com link, but then I wouldn't hear what those on my side were saying. We were too far away to tell who exactly we were looking at, but it was more than enough thinking of who it could be.

"You said it yourselves, guys. It's going to be impossible to stop this without force."

I looked up at him and saw the set the set expression on his face. Hot Shot was going to fight, too. There was no stopping him. But Unicron…

I shook my head. I couldn't stop the Autobots and the Decepticons in their battle. None of us humans could. Even though Hot Shot and Wheeljack had seen what the fighting led to, they had no choice but to keep going. It wasn't so much the fact that scores had to be settled between sides. It was also because there were transformers that wouldn't stop fighting no matter what they learned, and those were the exact same ones our friends had to protect themselves from. There was also the fact that the two groups were so completely different. Starscream and Wheeljack were proof of that. And of course, we also knew that even if each and every one of the transformers was part of the same group, there would still be in-fighting among them. Unicron just wouldn't go away!

"We're giving up, even though we haven't even tried." I murmured in a miserable tone.

Hot Shot didn't reply, but his look gave the answer. We were. I just hoped he would reconsider later.

What he did say was this, "you're all going to stay with us, aren't you?"

Rad, Carlos, and I looked at each other, the screams in the background of our com links falling on deaf ears. Hot Shot was asking if we were still ready to give our lives for our friends. If we weren't killed in battle, then Unicron could get us.

I knew I was scared. My hands were shaking to prove it. Tears fell from my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. What had I gotten myself into? I was only fifteen years old. My whole life was ahead of me, and I had a father and sister that loved me. Why was I throwing this away?

Rad and Carlos were shedding their own tears. They were thinking the same thing.

A movement made Rad jump. Highwire had laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It is your choice." When Highwire spoke those words, it wasn't in the Mini-Con language, but in English. His expression was completely neutral; he wasn't begging for help, or trying to make us not stay. He was leaving it all to us to decide. Hot Shot's face completely matched his.

And that was why we stopped crying, and our nerve returned. We had a purpose to be there: we had true friends to be loyal to. Dad used to say how strong the brotherhood of a combat unit was, and at that point, I understood his words.

"I'll stay." I proclaimed.

"That goes for me, too." Rad added.

"And me." Carlos insisted.

Highwire let out a sigh of relief and gave a thank you, while Hot Shot smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"Hey, any idea where we're going? It's getting a little hot over here!" Wheeljack yelled. A heavy blast that rocked the entire building reinforced his point.

"Don't worry, I got it!" Hot Shot replied, contacting another fellow Autobot.

"Sideswipe, where are you?"

We smiled. He was still alive, too. Somehow, the screams didn't seem so intense.

"Look, I'll explain later, okay? Just tell me where you are!"

During the next pause, Hot Shot looked off to the left. It was darker over there, and the terrain sloped downwards into a ditch. Most of the light there came from the flames left by shots that had landed nearby. I saw a couple of wounded transformers being dragged down there, and hoped Sideswipe wasn't among them.

"All right, we'll be there soon!" Hot Shot cut the link and told Wheeljack to cover him.

Off we went. The charge was like a twisted version of a dance. The shadows of fast-moving machines stood out starkly against the bright, sporadic lights of the battle, their forms twisting and turning to hit each other or to dodge a blow. Hot Shot and Wheeljack each did their own moves, forcing us to hold on tight once more. My heart was going into overdrive, and my screams seemed to echo in my head.

Just as soon as the dance had started, it ended. We suddenly were pitched downwards as Hot Shot and Wheeljack jumped in just as a shot from above landed directly behind us.

The ditch was horrible to look at. Several badly wounded Autobots lay slumped against its sloped walls while a precious few medics attended to them. A few of the wounded half-heartedly looked up at us, while the medics didn't even bother.

Posted just below the rims of the ditch were unwounded transformers that were guarding the medics and the wounded, and among them (thankfully) was Sideswipe. The worst bits he had were slightly chipped pieces of armor and a fine straight line up and down his light blue visor. It didn't seem to inhibit his vision, however.

"You made it, bro!" He called ecstatically, slamming his fist together with Hot Shot's. Billy and Fred waved at us eagerly from where they sat on Sideswipe's shoulder with Nightbeat, grinning from ear to ear. We waved back, almost making the dismal mood of the ditch slide away into nothing.

Sadly, it came back all the same.

"Wheeljack, what're you doing here?" Sideswipe exclaimed upon noticing him, drawing his gun.

"Yeah, go away you useless piece of scrap!" Billy's yell rang over the com link.

"It's okay, he's with us. Just let him through, okay? He's injured."

Hot Shot gave Sideswipe a helpless look, and we quickly jumped in to vouch for him, much to the surprise of Billy and Fred.

Sideswipe's optics flicked to Wheeljack for a moment, whose hand was hovering just above his gun, despite the fact that he was in pain. The Mini-Cons on his shoulders, Sureshock included, were beeping their trust in Wheeljack.

Sideswipe looked from him, to Hot Shot, to the handful of medics, and back. He clearly had no idea what to do.

But time and action prevented him from thinking as long as he wanted to. A shot landed not too far from where we were, sending us skidding a few feet. Wheeljack groaned in pain as his limbs protested.

That was when Sideswipe made his decision.

In an uncertain voice, he replied, "go ahead."

The turncoat thanked him with a nod, and leaned forward for Hot Shot to take the Mini-Cons (save for Wind Sheer) off of his shoulders. He then headed over to the medics.

"They'll heal him, right?" Carlos asked.

"Don't forget, his Decepticon emblem is much smaller than his Autobot one. He'll be fine." Rad reassured.

"Hey, where's Blurr? Wasn't he with you? Optimus said you had all come back." Sideswipe asked suddenly, looking around. He hadn't seen Blurr's sniper rifle or recognized Incinerator in the poor lighting.

Rad, Carlos, and I let out pain-filled groans. Incinerator let out squeaks of sadness, which the other Mini-Cons near him, excluding Inferno, comforted him for.

Fred asked, "wait, isn't that Incinerator? Then that means—" he broke into tears, Billy accompanying him.

Sideswipe looked shocked as Hot Shot stiffly detached the sniper rifle from his belt, holding it out for all to see.

"What happened?" Billy asked through his tears.

Hot Shot let out a sigh and looked down at Incinerator.

I bit my lip. Blurr had been Sideswipe's hero in the past. Was it really a good idea to tell him about him being related to Sideways?

Hot Shot looked back up and replied in a dismal tone, "Sideways tried to kill us, but Blurr stopped him. He gave his life for us. He also wanted us to have his sniper rifle and Incinerator."

Sideswipe looked ready to cry. "That's Commander Blurr for you, isn't it?" He asked rhetorically in a choked-up voice.

Hot Shot paused for a moment and replied, "yeah."

Sideswipe cleared his throat. "Where were you guys, anyway?"

"We were so worried!" Fred exclaimed.

I tilted my head up at the sky as Rad said, "We were closer and farther than you think."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Billy asked.

Before any of us could answer, though, a sharp cry came from one of the other guards on the ridge.

"Sideswipe, if you're going to help us here, quit fragging around!"

Once again, the war had forced the news about Unicron to take a backseat, and for me to worry about what was to happen if there was no end to it.

XXXXXX

The second day took away the togetherness the first had brought.

After Hot Shot had taken a place near Sideswipe on his guard post, we shared the details of our journey into and out of Unicron with him, Billy, and Fred. Each of us took turns in the story-telling in order to get all the important details straight, beginning with our accidental transport into Unicron and Blurr's murder, to the near-death experience of Rad, Carlos, and myself and the Mini-Cons' revealing of what might be and our altering of the time line, to rescuing Wheeljack from the acid at the expense of leaving Blurr's body, our seeing Unicron's core, and finally, our escape route via Thrust and his execution by Hot Shot.

Fred's, Billy's, and Sideswipe's faces showed shock, then fear, horror, anger, and finally fear again.

"So what should we do now? Just fight until he kills us all?" Sideswipe asked in a crushed tone.

Hot Shot shook his head. "No, that can't be it. There wouldn't be a point to everything."

"Then what do we do?" Billy asked in a high-pitched tone that had been generated by his nerves.

Just then, shots in our direction rang out, causing us sitting on their shoulders to cringe in fear.

Hot Shot and Sideswipe recoiled in self-defense, firing their own returning shots at the Decepticon that had fired, his optics ablaze with blind fury.

The sudden movement caused Rad to slip down Hot Shot's shoulder and fell over the side with a cry.

"RAD!" Carlos and I screamed, scrambling to grab onto each of his outstretched hands. He was screaming his head off, and his feet kicked hard at the empty air. The Mini-Cons grabbed each of our legs to keep us from falling over the edge. They were beeping wildly.

Much to our dismay, our grip on him was slipping fast due to the fabric of the suits. Tears and sweat mixed on my face at the thought of losing my friend. I didn't look over at Carlos, but I knew the expression on his face had been the same.

The palm of one of Hot Shot's large hands appeared just below Rad. A split second later, he fell into it. The jerk from his fall wasn't enough to bring us over with him because of the Mini-Cons that were holding onto us, but it did carry us forward by a few inches. Still, Hot Shot kept his hand there in case we did.

"Sorry about that, Rad!" He exclaimed in a miserable tone as he brought his hand around.

Carlos, the Mini-Cons, and I slumped forwards in relief as Rad replied with a nervous laugh, "it's okay, I'm fine."

Still, the unhappy look didn't fall from Hot Shot's face as he placed Rad back on his shoulder.

A volley of shots suddenly came from above, accompanied by a familiar peal of laughter. Cyclonus.

"Hold on!" Hot Shot and Sideswipe yelled in unison as they dove to the ground.

"They just don't give up, do they?" Someone nearby exclaimed, tugged a wounded Autobot away from the extent of the firing.

As we looked up, we saw not just Cyclonus, but several other winged Decepticons were firing down into the ditch. It was horrible to watch as the wounded crawled, limped, or were dragged out of the way, with the trench walls slowly collapsing in on them. The shrieks were awful to hear.

"Sick sons of glitches!" Hot Shot growled, covering his head with his arms. We huddled close to him for protection from the falling chinks of metal.

"Wheeljack, where are you?" He called out, looking around quickly. Most of the other Autobots were making their way out in the sporadic bursts of light. Pools of energon were already covering the ground along with a few corpses, much to our sadness and disgust. And all the while, I could hear Cyclonus's shrill laughter over my pounding heart.

"They can't do this! This is horrible!" Carlos screamed in agony at the scene.

A form ran toward us, weaving in and out of the shots, and crashed to a halt, barely missing Hot Shot and Sideswipe. It was Wheeljack, who looked like he had been halfway through repairs. He was panting hard. Wind Sheer was clinging to his neck.

"TRAITOR!" Came Cyclonus's scream and a badly aimed shot at Wheeljack.

"Okay, that's everyone! Let's go!" Sideswipe called out as he pulled himself up on the ditch's wall. Hot Shot and Wheeljack quickly followed suit, while Cyclonus's laughter continued to ring out. And to think I had been in battles against him…

Upon exiting, the three transformers quickly ducked behind the fallen remains of a structure. It was far enough from the ditch and the battle to provide a little shelter.

"Man, I thought they were bad, but shit!" Billy shouted, his voice filled with his shock. We all agreed with him, except for Wheeljack, who said nothing. No one looked over in his direction. Otherwise, he would have felt more self-conscious.

Sideswipe let out a sigh. "Well, we can't do much now. Everyone's been scattered. Fraggit, why did I even bother to help? We were sitting ducks out there!" He punched the structure in an angered fit.

Hot Shot grabbed his arm. "Calm down, Sideswipe!"

And then it happened. BOOM! The structure burst into several pieces, thanks to Cyclonus's reckless aiming. Hot Shot had bent his head down and moved his arms to protect his face, and the sudden jerk sent me, Sureshock, Carlos, and Incinerator flying. We had lost our grip by mistake, having been worn down from before, and paying more attention to what Billy and Sideswipe had been saying.

Hot Shot managed to catch Carlos and Incinerator, but missed Sureshock and me. My stomach turned completely over as I realized I was in free fall, and a terrified scream came the bottom of my throat. My Mini-Con transformed in midair in an attempt to break my fall, and I grabbed onto her, but hadn't had enough time to mount the seat.

My teeth gritted in pain as the lower half of my body consequentially smacked against it as we bounced off the inner crook of Hot Shot's elbow and flew out towards the ground below. It felt as if needles were being pushed into my lower limbs.

Another hand shot out from below us. It was Wheeljack's. Even though I was in pain, I had to get on the seat, or another jarring blow would hurt me even more.

I began moving my legs forward, the pain embedding itself deeper into them with the motion, slowing me down. Fear gripped me. They were going too slow. I wouldn't make it in time.

At the last moment, however, his hand was gone, and I was still falling.

Somehow, I managed to completely mount the vehicle just before hitting Sideswipe's hand.

I groaned in pain from the second stop, leaning over the handlebars as we bounced again, and finally we skidded to a halt on the ground below, stopping before the three transformers.

Sideswipe bent down to pick us up, but suddenly drew his arm back with a cry of fear, looking out at something behind me.

I turned and screamed when I saw Tidal Wave running right in my direction.

"SURESHOCK, GO!" I shrieked, and she sped off to the right, passing up Sideswipe, then Hot Shot, and finally Wheeljack, their faces flashing by in instants. Fred's, Billy's, Rad's, Carlos's, and the other Mini-Cons' faces were blurs due to the speed and distance. The ever-changing light due to lasers and flickering flames threatened to give me a headache, and my ears rung from my friends screaming out my name in their com links all at once.

Hot Shot reached out a hand in one last attempt to grab me, but when it failed, he drew out Blurr's sniper rifle and aimed at the large Decepticon.

Sureshock zoomed into a small hole in the embankment partially concealed by turned-up metal just as the rifle went off, sending the Decepticon backwards by several feet. He was stunned, but still upright.

Hot Shot aimed at Tidal Wave's flailing head and fired again. The resulting impact shattered his left optic and pushed the head violently to the right side with a sickening crunching noise, but really didn't do much else.

More laser shots rained down from the heavens, and Sideswipe, Hot Shot, and Wheeljack's faces all grew nervous. They knew if they didn't move, they would easily be killed.

My heart went out to them. "Go, just go. I'll be fine." I whispered.

And at that, they ran to find help, but not without Sideswipe and Hot Shot casting final, worried looks back over their shoulders for me. Tidal Wave stocked off after them, and Cyclonus broke away from the Seeker squadron to pursue them as well.

A few moments later, the white light that was attributed to Blurr's sniper rifle shot up in the air and hit Cyclonus square in the underbelly. He was still laughing as he plummeted out of the sky to his death.

It was then that I realized that I was completely isolated from the group. Sureshock was my only companion now. I probably would have some nasty bruises from my previous injury, and I would only have myself and her to nurse them. I hugged her to me, crying hysterically as she made mournful beeping noises, the gruesome noises of the battle echoing all the while.

XXXXXX

The third day was a miracle in itself.

I had passed out from exhaustion sometime between the end of the second day and the beginning of the third day. How I knew was because I felt a massive finger prodding me awake, and Scavenger yelling, "Alexis, wake up!"

I sat bolt upright with a surprised cry, and then slid back down with a groan. I had forgotten about my legs.

My ears hadn't deceived me. There he was, lying on his stomach right before me, his face slightly damaged, but conveying a sense of comfort to me. A smile, though pained, took up the lower portion of his face, which was covered in scratches. I couldn't help but notice a small trail of energon seeping from his mouth's right corner. His yellow optics glowed softly at me, even though his forehead and top portions of his head were dented, as if someone had been punching him. A deep scratch was on his nose. The left hand he had extended to me, palm out, was clean, though albeit battered, while right one, which was bleeding, was clenched hard around his gun. He was breathing hard, indicating that he was tired.

Sureshock and I crawled onto his palm, and he closed his fingers over us.

"Are you all right, Alexis?" He asked over my com link.

"Sort of. My legs got banged up. They could be worse off, but the bruises I have on them will make it painful to move for a while." I replied as I felt our temporary safe zone being lifted.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not gonna waste time asking the exact details about what happened to you. It sounds like it'll be a long story, from what Optimus told me."

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. But there is something that I need to tell you about."

Sureshock and I were suddenly pitched to the side as a nearby shot went off, followed by the sound of loosened metal rising into the air. Luckily, we banged into each other, and not into his fingers.

Shortly after, Scavenger began firing back at his attacker, and then with a warning to us, dropped down to a crouch, my stomach turning as he did so. Sureshock had grabbed me in time to avoid more pain to me.

"Sorry 'bout that. You were saying?" He asked.

I took a breath, and quickly explained about Unicron's disguise, intention, and power source.

Scavenger was silent for a moment, the only sound being from a loud explosion out in the distance. Sureshock and I curled closer together, shaking. Somehow, not seeing what happened in the battle was worse than seeing what was. It made the screams all the more haunting to hear.

Finally, Scavenger replied in a grave voice, "Alexis, you're a smart girl. You know as well as I do that everyone suddenly dropping their weapons won't happen."

"I know that, Scavenger, but—"

"Please let me finish. The only idea I have is to defeat the Decepticons. They began this war in the first place."

"But wasn't there in-fighting among the Autobots? " I asked in a worried tone.

We let out cries as we were lifted up, falling forwards as Scavenger dove to avoid more shots. He landed with a heavy grunt. I echoed it on a smaller scale from the pain shooting through my legs. Scavenger hadn't had enough time to warn me. Was there any end to this?

"I was wondering when you kids would find out about that." He responded in a darkly humorous tone, firing his own gun at an enemy unseen to me.

"It's true, there was. But I can tell you right now, it wasn't nearly as bad as before Galvatron formed the Decepticons. There had been killings, but not such a genocide as this."

I initially felt rage at the Decepticons because of his statement. Scavenger had been one himself, so I could take those words to the bank. At the same time, however, I also felt a sense of relief. Now I knew exactly what must be done.

I turned to Sureshock for confirmation, and she nodded with a fist clenched. We would stop the Decepticons as well as her previous master.

"All right, let's go." I said in a strong voice.

XXXXXX

The fourth day was one of vengeance.

Various shades of color and shadow splashed across Sureshock's and my faces from the slits between Scavenger's fingers. Our nerves from the lack of visual had gotten the better of us, so I had asked him to let us see. He had complied, explaining that he had us in such a tight grip so as to not allow us to be dropped again. I had felt a warm feeling in my heart from that, and actually smiled a little.

Scavenger was panting harder and harder. The battle was beginning to wear him down, but he showed no signs of stopping.

"Don't you need to rest?" I asked worriedly.

"I will…when I have to." He replied between breaths.

Sureshock and I exchanged glances as he went down to a half-crouch to fire above his head, forcing her to grab me once more. His already damaged right hand was taking even more abuse from his grip on his weapon. Energon fell from it in a bright pink rain. He had taken his first hand injury shortly before finding me. It had been caught in the grip of a Decepticon with pincer-like devices for hands. Scavenger had been trying to save a fellow Autobot from him. Although he had set himself free by beating the Decepticon in the head with his left fist, the Autobot had been killed by a shot to the back of the head. Scavenger had then been surrounded by the pincer-handed Decepticon and the shooter, about to take each of them on at once. What had stopped this from happening was a grenade he had seen flying through the air in their direction. He had jumped out of the way in time, while they hadn't been as fortunate. The blast had carried him a distance through the air, and he had crashed near my hiding place.

If Scavenger hadn't been stronger with his right hand than his left, I would have felt guilty about forcing him to use his right instead of resting it somewhat.

"Hold on!" My friend yelled as he suddenly stopped his firing.

My heart pounded as Sureshock and I braced ourselves as he jumped over the dip in the landscape he had been using as his "shelter" into a cloud of bright yellow dust that had been rising above it. A smoke bomb!

For a few moments, I couldn't see a thing with my less functional human eyes. I heard metal cracking on metal, and Scavenger's grunts with the exertion. He had bludgeoned his enemy in the head with his gun. After that came the sound of a heavy body falling down, and Scavenger's satisfied response to the sight.

If only he could have seen out of the back of his own head. An ear-splitting crack came, and a soft, barely audible cry issued out from Scavenger. He half bent down, and I saw his clean left arm try to weave behind his back into a wound by his left hip. I felt tears falling from my eyes as I cried out in fear for his safety.

"How the mighty have fallen, Scavenger." Came a mocking voice from behind him.

With a grunt, he turned himself around. I let out a squeak as I took in the sight of a single cold, gold-colored optic against a screen of black. I felt as if it was staring right through me. Dark purple armor composed this Decepticon's thin body, which was framed against the smoke like a ghost. I saw, much to my fear, that he wasn't holding a gun. His arm was his right hand. He held his pose serenely still, and there wasn't a single wound or speck of energon on his body.

"Shockwave, what a pleasure. I still see you're brave as usual." Scavenger replied in a sarcastic tone, though it wasn't without pain from his wound. I felt as if someone was choking me. Scavenger, powerful, strong, protective Scavenger, may not make it out alive just because of this coward.

Then it dawned on me. This was the same monster that had aided in the kidnapping of Elita-One. He wasn't a force to be trifled with. I suddenly had the urge to bury my head in my arms to relieve myself of my discomfort, but fought against it.

Shockwave ignored Scavenger's comment as he raised his gun. "This is truly lucky. First Ultra Magnus, now you."

"No!" I screamed.

Scavenger held his cool. "What a shame. You used to be one of Galvatron's most trusted officers. Now you're his assassin? You're piteous."

Instead of reacting to the insult, Shockwave replied, "to each his own, Scavenger. Good bye."

I shook my head fast, yelling the word "no" over and over. Sureshock beeped at warped speed beside me, her head literally spinning.

Before Shockwave's shot was fired, two scored him straight in the chest, and energon gushed out of them immediately. He tilted his head to look down at them disbelievingly, then back up at Scavenger. Shortly afterwards, he fell back on the ground.

Scavenger let out a sigh of relief. "Right on time."

To my amazement, I saw Jazz and Prowl running past each side of Scavenger, Jazz to the left, and Prowl to the right. Jazz took hold of Scavenger's left side while Prowl checked to see if Shockwave was truly dead.

When he finally confirmed the mech's death, Scavenger muttered to me, "now I need to rest, Alexis."

XXXXXX

On the fifth day, we realized we needed help.

I let out an empty sigh from where I was curled up in Scavenger's hand next to Sureshock. It was still closed around us, though less tightly.

Jazz patched up Scavenger's wound as best as he could, but he wasn't a medic. We needed Ratchet or First Aid, the two of whom Prowl was trying to contact, but with little results. Each time, he grew a little more frustrated. The two were aware of my and Sureshock's presence, which was part of the reason they stayed with Scavenger. They couldn't afford having another Mini-Con fall into Decepticon hands.

They also sadly verified for Sureshock and me what Shockwave had alluded to: Ultra Magnus was dead. He had been protecting Hot Rod and Arcee from a persistent Seeker, Skywarp, who had killed their comrade, Springer, when several shots had rung out from seemingly nowhere, ending his life. And it had all happened when we were inside of Unicron's body, so far away.

When I asked Scavenger why he hadn't told me, he replied that it was because he didn't want me to worry. In fact, he said, Hot Rod, Arcee, and any nearby Autobots had been ordered to be silent, save for the officers, who could still speak through private com link. The Autobots had to keep fighting, and such a loss being known by the general population would surely have crippled them.

According to Jazz, some of the officers fought with renewed vigor upon hearing the news, while others felt no further need to go on, and practically let themselves be shot to death. "We're gonna burn that fragger's body when this is over, I guarantee it." He had remarked in an acidic tone.

Optimus had been informed of the loss, but that was all that was known. If I knew him well enough, I understood that he couldn't do much about it. He was by no means a slave to power, and wasn't going to make good on his newfound singular leadership. Even if he did, the surrounding anarchy would have swiftly cancelled that out. He also, sadly, didn't have time to grieve, since the battle was much more pressing.

Scavenger explained to me that killing Shockwave had been his plan all along. He had a suspicion that the mech had been following him since he had picked me and Sureshock up, and decided to take his revenge for what he had done not just to Optimus and his mate, but as well as the many other deaths he had caused in his long career at Galvatron's side. I shuddered at that information, as well as the fact that since Shockwave had started following Scavenger shortly after he had picked up Sureshock and me, he had most likely been looking right at us when we had been in Scavenger's hand. I felt fear well up in me at that, then let it go with a breath. It was over. He went on to say that entering the smoke bomb had quite literally been a shot in the dark. He hadn't known if an Autobot or a Decepticon had thrown it for an ambush, but he had known that Shockwave had been too close at hand to dilly-dally.

"Sometimes…you have to take a chance." He finished in a tired voice.

"At last, Ratchet!" Came an exclamation of relief from Prowl. We looked over to see that he had successfully opened a com link, and our faces lit up.

That was, until Prowl asked Ratchet where he was, and looked over at the indicated direction. It was a sort of nest-like area of several building remains. It looked relatively safe, but it was past a sea of writhing shadows of lapping flames and hulking, fighting bodies. I felt a sense of dread settling over me as I was reminded of the ditch from before, but there was no other option available.

He looked over at us, an optic ridge raised. "Normally I would consider this route illogical, but we haven't a…" His voice suddenly began to trail off, and his body started to slow down, much to my horror.

"Aw, not now!" Jazz exclaimed, rushing over to him with his hand raised.

Prowl seemed to snap out of it before the blow came, wincing not from it, but from a ringing in his head. He had still had his com link open with Ratchet.

"Wait, what just happened?" I asked.

"Prowl can't take...logic loss. It…it freezes him." Scavenger slowly explained.

"Do that again, and I swear to Primus I'm kicking your aft!" Jazz yelled as went over to support Scavenger.

Prowl nodded with a look of embarrassment as he closed out his com link. "I suppose we are going, then?"

The question was directed at Scavenger, who responded with a nod.

"Well, you heard the mech! Let's go!"

Prowl responded to Jazz's summons by dutifully leading the way.

Before we advanced far, I called out Scavenger's name.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Please, close your hand." Call me cowardly, but I had seen more than my fill of the battle, and I didn't want to look anymore.

Scavenger comfortingly closed his hand, and I huddled up close to my Mini-Con with hands wrapped around my chest, and my head down. I didn't want to look up at her optics because their color matched Shockwave's too well. I felt bad about it, but I couldn't stop myself. Her placing her hands comfortingly on my shoulders only made me feel worse. My will was slowly slipping away through the emotional trauma I was faced with. I didn't cry. I wanted to, but the tears wouldn't come.

"God, or Primus," I whispered, "help us."

XXXXXX

The sixth and final day brought a long-awaited dawn.

I cringed more and more with every scream, every blow that I heard from outside Scavenger's hand, wishing it all to be over.

My left hand reached back and gripped onto Sureshock's tightly, while my right hand grabbed hard onto my pendant and the precious fragment of Starscream's essence it held within. It was funny that even though I was so far from him, and my thoughts of him had all but slipped from my mind due to more pressing matters, that I still clung to him. I had been cold to him, meanwhile the stone felt warm in my grip. I had pronounced him dead to me in my words, and there the evidence was that he was still alive.

Suddenly, I wanted him there with me. That would enable him to see me so weak, so useless, and afraid of my own Mini-Con's appearance. And then, I could finally tell him that yes, I could understand, even a little, of the pain that had made not just him, but the other transformers into what they were, and why he had such a vendetta against Galvatron. An apology to him for my previous behavior seemed too formal, and not as inwardly important.

"Alexis…we're here." Scavenger announced.

I felt my body grow less tense as I realized how truly drained I felt, the relief at making it out only stimulating my mind and running it out even more.

"I think this calls for a nap, then." I replied softly as I let out go of Sureshock's hand and the pendant to pillow my head as I lowered myself to my back, staring up in the darkness. The voices from outside of Scavenger's hand slowly became nothing more than a faint garble in my ears.

I felt Sureshock run a hand through my hair.

"Don't despair, Alexis," she comforted, "the weapons aren't all on one side yet. There is still time."

"But haven't the others…Haven't they come true?" I asked, trying to hold onto my sense as I began to drift.

After a pause, she replied, "Yes."

I shook my head, and she added, "I know it may seem nearly impossible, but you musn't give up hope."

"Sureshock, did you see this all happening? Can you see what will happen next?"

She sighed. "Yes, I did, and I can. That's the ability Unicron cursed us with when we were created. We Mini-Cons try to change the future into what it can be, but we don't have total control, as you have seen over the time you have been with us."

I understood what she had meant, and at the same time slowly felt my consciousness slipping away. "Can you…can you tell me…"

Before I could finish my question, I fell asleep, and forgot what it was entirely.

The next thing I knew, she was shaking me awake.

Much to my surprise, I wasn't staring at the wall of Scavenger's fingers anymore. I was looking out at the dance of death that was the battle once more, and more importantly, at the dueling figures of Jet Optimus and Galvatron.

I felt ready to cry out in fear for my friends' well-being. This was it, the final fight. What only heightened my nerves more was the fact that the Requiem Blaster was in Galvatron's hand. If Optimus grabbed it at any time…

"Scavenger?" I asked suddenly, turning to face him.

I felt a smile on my face as I saw that his own was no longer pained. Rather, it was irritated. Ratchet was bent down not too far from him, working on another patient. He had healed Scavenger, and had forced him to stay, even though he had wanted to continue fighting. I caught sight of First-Aid further away in the enclosed area, helping another of the wounded. Various other medics were working hard, barely noticing anything else outside of their world of work. Prowl and Jazz were gone, most likely off fighting again, but other Autobots, Grapple and Bluestreak among them, had remained to patrol the area. Much to my relief, flying above us were Autobot Seekers. We were as safe as we could be on the battlefield. Still, the sight reminded me of Rad, Carlos, and the others, and I wondered if they were all right.

"Yes?" He asked, his optics flicking from his, no, our leader struggling against Galvatron to me.

"Do you think…do you think if Galvatron dies, the Decepticons are finished?" I inquired in a quiet voice.

The strong smile he gave me felt as good as a hug."Yes, Alexis. While Optimus had his leadership based on building strength in others to make unity, Galvatron's was formed on tearing down the strength of his men in order to create fear. When he is gone, his faction will be too."

"So even if Jet Optimus picks up the Requiem Blaster, we will be okay?" I asked.

He nodded. "I should think so, but I promise I will get word to him not to. Right now, I cannot for obvious reasons, but I assure you, I won't allow Unicron to harm any of us."

"H—Hey, guys! Look!" Came a call from above us.

"Bluestreak, please, don't draw attention!" Followed a feminine voice from the same direction.

We raised our heads to look, and Scavenger's jaw dropped. "It can't be….Elita-One?"

A disheveled pink femme was slowly led down into the area by a thoroughly surprised Bluestreak. She had a hand pressed to her right shoulder, trying to stop the steady bleeding. Her armor was cracked and broken in several places, its color faded so badly that it would have looked practically white, if it hadn't been for the dirt that coated it. I felt miserable for her and for Optimus, her for her situation, and him for not being able to see her. Then again, if he did her like this, it probably would have destroyed him.

"Primus, I'm so careless." She murmured.

Ratchet, who had just finished his work on his patient, sprung up. He was the only one that wasn't shocked. The task at hand hadn't allowed him to be. Without saying a word, he took her from Bluestreak, told him to get his aft back up on guard duty, and sat her down to get to work, ordering her sternly not to talk. Elita looked slightly perturbed at that, but didn't say anything otherwise.

Scavenger's expression as he watched Ratchet work was completely disbelieving. It was as if he had watched someone come back from the dead, based on what had happened to her before. I ached inside as I thought of how Optimus would react. He was by no means unbreakable.

"Alexis, look!" Sureshock's hand gripped my shoulder like a vice.

I spun around, yelling, "WHAT?"

She pointed outwards, and my mouth dropped open as I saw Jet Optimus stab Galavatron, who was on his knees, through the chest. Galvatron's mouth was open, but energon rather than sound poured from it. It was if he was tired to scream. His face was frozen in complete rage and disbelief at what had happened. The Requiem Blaster fell uselessly from his hand to the ground beside him. The battle continued around them, as if no one, much like me, believed that everything was suddenly over.

The next moment, I felt the urge to suddenly get up and dance, all the while screming, "yeah! Take that, Galvatron!" However, it quickly died away when I say the Blaster lying on the ground, and I felt my heart pounding. The battle was still raging as tirelessly as it had been.

I started to yell to Scavenger to alert Jet Optimus against picking up the weapon, but the command died in my throat when I saw my leader withdraw his free hand from inside Galvatron's body and stare down at it. It was soaking with energon, and making me feel nauseous. I had been too distracted by Galvatron's face to see him stick it in. Why had he done that?

Scavenger suddenly exclaimed anxiously, "Hey, Ratch! One of our squad's members is hurt!"

When I looked over at Ratchet, I saw his hand slightly shake with indecision. Elita, who he was tending to, was mirroring the same disbelief I had been showing. She was staring up Jet Optimus, whispering something to herself. Then I saw who was on her left shoulder.

"Swindle!" I cried out. I couldn't believe it; there he was! I hadn't seen him in the shifting shadows when Elita had been led down.

An excited series of beeps answered me, and Sureshock returned them with her own set.

Elita sharply turned her head to Swindle at his sudden outburst, and then to where Sureshock and I were, as if she had just noticed us there. A startled expression formed on her face, and saw her mouth, "how?'

My eyes searched her shoulder for Starscream's form, but I couldn't find him. My breath suddenly caught in my throat, and I swung my head back around to look at Jet Optimus, who still had his optics on his energon-covered hand. My eyes widened, and I whispered, "No, no, no…It's impossible…"

I picked up in my pendant in the palm of shaking hand, hoping with all might I wasn't right as I slowly lowered my eyes, my heart's thumping growing louder and louder, until I thought that it was all I would hear.

I bit down hard on my lip to stop from screaming as I how deep the newly-formed gouges were. At some places, the green surface looked almost completely caved in. Tears were welling up in my eyes quickly as the scene from the morgue played through my mind again.

But then, the visual of my mother smiling serenely as she placed my hand over the rock's cracked middle appeared before me.

Hope shined in me as I ran my finger over the rock's middle.

A breath whooshed out of my mouth as I found its surface to be smooth. I closed my hands over it and whispered, "yes," as the hope overwhelmed me. Somehow, Starscream had taken his revenge against Galvatron, and lived to tell the tale. Unicron couldn't threaten anyone anymore. The war was over. Optimus, Elita, Starscream, the Mini-Cons, my friends, the rest of the Autobots, those who had defected, and I could live their lives without Galvatron hanging over our heads. After such a mountain had been moved, it would all be okay, it just would.


	26. Chapter 26

Finally, an update! This is a little short, but the good news is that it took me only one night to bang out, and I'm glad about that. A major theme of this chapter is the amount of ignorance we have about death. Why did I put Starscream and Alexis each in near-death situations? Well, for one thing, to make them grow as characters and cherish their lives more. Another is for them to find more understanding with each others' experiences. I own nothing.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me." I muttered with irritation as I realized where I was. The area in front of me was pitch black. I was back in my transformer body, and once again transparent.

Yeah, I was actually pissed about being a transformer again. Then again, I wasn't necessarily in a place where I would be enjoying it.

I knew that my real body was in bad shape, but it aggravated me that I wasn't in it anymore. All I did was close my eyes, and I lost total control of it, as well as my situation.

Something else about the whole thing made me a little nervous. The last time I had been in the darkness, I had barely gotten out with my life, and that was because of Alexis's rock. What if it only could be used for just that one time?

A call from behind me broke my train of thought. "Starscream, you did it!"

I turned to see Skyfire, who was beaming at me. I smiled back and walked over to join him. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"

He chuckled, replying, "you certainly sound better."

"It definitely feels like a huge weight's been taken off my shoulders."

Something glinted in his blue optics. "It's not just you, but almost all of us."

He turned away from me for a moment to look out into the distance. I followed his motion, wondering if someone else was appearing. No one did.

Skyfire continued on. "Just be glad you don't have watch what's going on down there. It's painful not being able to do anything about what happens."

"Wait, what're you looking at? I can't see anything." I asked urgently.

He let out a sigh, frowning as he turned back to me. "Like I said, be glad. It was really hard to watch you just earlier."

My optics widened as it hit me. "You can see into the world of the living, can't you?"

He nodded.

I gestured around me. "So all of this is a part of the vision?"

"You're close, Starscream. This is half vision, half afterlife."

"And I can't see either because…"

"You're still a part of it." He replied reassuringly.

I let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear."

Something nagged at me as I said that, and I asked, "hey wait, why didn't you tell me that before? Last time, you just led me around like I was blind."

He gave me a sad look, and I felt a lump form in my throat. He looked scared for me. Normally, that would have annoyed me, but it was coming from someone that actually knew something I didn't, let alone the fact that I'd known this mech well. I actually didn't want to hear what he had to say.

"That's because I wasn't expecting you to come back, Starscream. I just thought that it would be better for you to forget about this place."

The darkness seemed as if it was pushing itself in on us as I replied after a slight pause, "I can get that. It's pretty depressing to think about having been in this sort of helpless state. But you know, I didn't. I dreamt of you once when I was still on Earth. You trying to tell me something, but I couldn't hear you."

Skyfire turned thoughtful, and tilted his head to the side, giving me a full view of his busted neck. I cringed when I saw it.

He noticed that, and swung his head back. It was so strange to see him move so easily with that sort of injury. "What?"

"Your neck." I said in a slightly sickened tone.

"My neck? What's wrong with it?" He asked, raising an optic ridge.

"What, you can't see it?" I pressed, pointing. "From when…" My voice trailed off at his perplexed look. Obviously, he couldn't.

"Huh, that's weird." I dropped my hand and shrugged. Like so many times before, it was starting to look as if it would be better to just roll with things instead of questioning them.

Skyfire shook his head to dismiss the question, and it was dropped.

"So what do I do now? Wait?" I asked.

"What, sick of seeing me already?" He joked.

But he knew why I had to go back. What was I missing in my life? It scared the hell out of me now that I understood what it meant. Then again, I probably couldn't do much if I did go back right at that point in time. Ugh! Why did it all have to be so complicated?

A bright light from the left of Skyfire suddenly appeared. I stepped around him to get a better view of it, and he turned as well.

When its form was completed, my mouth dropped open, and it was hard to breathe for a few moments.

When I did, I yelled, "Mother!" My voice sounded weak and emotionally beaten in front of my friend, but I didn't care as I felt myself running toward her.

There she was, young still, with gashes all over her. My spark ached to see them. The femme who had created me had received a punishment for it. Did I feel guilty about that? To tell the truth, I did. Her optics were glowing to see me.

When I felt her arms around me, that's when I lost it. Energon tears ran down my face, partly out of what I had been deprived of during my life, and partly because I couldn't exactly feel her because of my transparent body. Her touch was there, but at the same time it wasn't.

She pulled back to cup the side of my face with her hand. "I'm so proud of you!" There were tears on her face as well.

It took me a couple tries, but I finally said back in a cracked voice, "Thanks." Who cares if I looked and sounded like a sparkling? I had reason enough to be.

Something caught her optics, and she looked behind me. We broke apart as I looked over my shoulder. "Oh, this Sky-"

I cut off when I saw that it wasn't him standing behind me. A new light was beginning to form in his place. It became Blackflare, my father.

I raised an arm to wipe off my tears, despite the fact that it was shaking. My whole body was. I was messed up, and it was all boiling over in that moment.

He grabbed my shoulders to steady me, and although it worked, I only half-felt that as well. "You all right, kid?" Reassurance was in his voice, despite the massive hole that arched through his neck from when his head had been blown off. Not a pretty picture there. It made me feel a little worse,, but that got cancelled out by his words.

As lacking in endearment as it sounded, that was affection from him. It was just his personality. And that was okay with me. It helped me regain control.

I managed to look hardened as I nodded. He smiled. "That's my mech."

For a while, no one knew what to say. It wasn't as much awkward as overwhelming. They had been gone from me for longer than I could remember, meanwhile they had watched me live the pitiful life I had.

I was glad that neither seemed unhappy at me being a hybrid in the living world and falling for a human, especially with Blackflare. True, he wasn't a typical Decepticon, but that didn't mean he didn't believe in some of what they taught. I guess that was another thing I shared in common with him.

Aura let out a sigh, drawing my attention to her. Her arms were folded tightly over her chest, and her head was down. "I'm sorry."

I wanted to tell her it was no big deal; I was doing okay on my own. But that wasn't the truth.

"That goes for me, too." Blackflare added.

Yeah, they were my creators, but if I could just as easily refer to them by their first names as I did their titles, then unfortunately that wasn't much. I could feel anger building in me slightly, and it was hard to let go of.

Around the same time, a massive bright light exploded before us, making us throw up our arms to shield ourselves.

"What in Primus's name?" Aura exclaimed.

Not a good sign there. I wished I could wake up.

What happened instead was the form of Galvatron morphed into place before us.

"Oh, joy." I hissed, drawing my wingsword.

"What do you want?" Snapped Blackflare.

Galvatron ignored him, all the while keeping his ruby optics locked on me. I smirked as I saw the mutilated state his body was in. Scars, gashes, not to mention the big hole in the middle…To say he was a wreck would be an understatement.

And the best part was that he couldn't damage me. Sure, I would feel the pain from his blows, but not completely. He was only looking for self-fulfillment. If it wouldn't have been so funny, I would have pitied him. At least when I killed him, it was to end the torment I had suffered at his hands.

Before I could be stopped, I charged, challenging in a mocking tone, "come and get me!"

Even though all was said and done on Cybertron, I still attacked whatever was left him. Why? To keep him from harming my creators? No because all spirits, good and bad, lived together with Primus in peace after death. We all learned that when we were young. Right then, I was the only exception to that, making me fair game. To get back at him again because he put me in this situation twice?  
Probably. To get rid of the anger that had been brought on earlier? That could also be it.

Whatever the reason, I attacked him, and it was a horrible mistake with a nasty consequence.

Much to my surprise, he extended his two arms forward, breaking through the sword with his claws, and digging them into my chest underneath.

That time, I felt everything, and pain overtook me as the two slashes tore down to my waist. I collapsed in pain, and felt it overtake me as my creators screamed my name as it all faded away, with Galvatron's fiery optics being the last thing to go.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter was also written to serve the purpose of how Starscream and Alexis's views about their deceased paternal units contrast. Starscream never knew his, so although he is happy to see them, he is aloof. Alexis, on the other hand, knew her mother, so she is much more emotional toward her.


	27. Chapter 27

This is the last chapter to be narrated by Alexis. I own nothing.

* * *

-Alexis's POV-

Some people say time races by. Others declare that it crawls. After Galvatron fell,  
I experienced both of those extremes.

When I looked up from my pendant, I saw that Jet Optimus had reverted to Optimus and Jetfire. The former of the two was running for shelter, while the latter was staring at Galvatron's body, as if deciding what to do next.

With a sinking feeling, I realized that the Requiem Blaster was probably lying near Galvatron's body. If Jetfire grabbed it, all would be lost. At the same time, however, it was completely idiotic to leave a weapon like that lying out in plain view.

Scavenger was on his com link. From the short, quick words that were coming out of his mouth, I could guess that he was probably warning him against picking up the gun.  
My heart thumped as I watched Jetfire. He didn't have much time, and his choice would decide everything.

He started slowly toward the gun. Once he was close enough, he bent down, and slid it under the remains of its wielder.

My shoulders sagged in relief, and I turned to smile in a giddy way at Sureshock. "We just dodged a giant bullet."

Her optics glowed as she nodded.

When I switched my gaze back to him, I saw that Jetfire was still in front of the body. He was holding something in his hand, something he was having a hard time keeping a hold of, according to the fact that his hand was jerking around.

The next moment, Jetfire took off.

"He's got Leader-One." Scavenger explained.

I realized that my tongue was sticking to the top of my mouth, and I tried to free it. Inferno had lost his ability to fit in with the other Mini-Cons well due to his picking up parts of Thrust's persona. I couldn't even imagine how difficult it would be for Leader-One.

"Scavenger!" Ratchet called.

He turned, and we saw that the medic looked very agitated.

"Optimus is bringing Starscream here. I need you to hide Elita for the time being."  
He jerked his thumb over at her as she rested in corner.

She caught his gesture, and nodded in agreement.

Scavenger nodded. "No problem."

As he made his way over to the femme, I realized with sadness why this had to be done. Optimus and Elita greatly missed one another. It would be wonderful for them to reunite, but that was only as far as their personal needs were concerned, and even that was not completely correct. If he saw her in her current state, it would devastate him. He would not be able to lead. I couldn't bear to think of Optimus in that way, and so I stopped.

Scavenger knelt before her to look her in the optics. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he asked, "You all right, kid?"

Despite the clear amount of pain there was on her face, both emotional from the stress that she was enduring, and physical from her wounds, she gave a strong nod. A fire burned in her blue optics. It was then that I saw Elita for who she was: a fighter.

"That's what I wanna hear." His smile was clear in his voice.

A frenzied beeping came from Elita's shoulder, and she turned her head toward Swindle, who was extending his arms toward Sureshock and me with so much emphasis that he resembled a little child.

I was ready to cry for him. Swindle had chosen to go with Starscream when he jumped ship, and now Starscream was badly injured. I wasn't sure if the two had meant anyone else other than Elita, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Swindle was with a stranger.

Starscream had been looking out for Swindle's well-being when he left the Mini-Con with Elita, but that didn't change the fact that he was lonely.

As completely idiotic as it was of Starscream to go after Galvatron, but if I knew him, he wouldn't have gotten over wanting to kill him until that occurred. Still, the way he went about it hurt all of us with his sarcasm, comments, and attitude, especially Jetfire and me.

Ugh! My head hurt from going back and forth from hand to hand. Some president I would make.

I shoved that comment to the back of my head. That wasn't important right then.  
Elita smiled sadly as she held out his hand for him to climb onto. "Good bye, Swindle."

He gave her a salute and happy beep as he climbed over to Scavenger's hand.

He was placed on his shoulder with us. While Scavenger got up, we greeted the Mini-  
Con.

I gave Swindle a hug. "I've never been so happy to see you!"

"Same to you!" He exclaimed eagerly. He looked ready to say something else, but was  
distracted by Sureshock, who was chattering to him at a mile a minute.

I smiled, and let them talk. Swindle needed whatever diversion he could get for the time being.

I switched my attention to Elita for a moment. She was sliding further and further back into the corner in a further attempt to hide herself in shadow. Scavenger's massive frame shielded the main part of her body, but she knew she couldn't be too careful.

I turned my head back to watch the activity in the area. Ratchet, First Aid, and the other medics were still at work, but it was to a lesser extreme. The repairs were becoming less and less intensive. This wasn't due to lack of supplies, rather the fact that the main part of the healings had been handled.

Those that had been healed, and were well enough to fight again, were returning to the battle. I resisted the urge to sigh. Now that Galavtron was gone, how long would it take for this to end? It would be horrible to lose even more lives. At the same time, though, I knew it would have to happen.

Metal crunched as a hulking figure approached the hole. The guards immediately gave away who it was with their salutes.

Optimus leapt down into the hole, calling out for Ratchet. One hand was held out, its fist clenched around who I knew was inside.

After leaving his current task in the hands of another competent medic, Ratchet briskly strode over, and was handed Starscream. I kept my eyes on the heads of  
Optimus and Ratchet during the exchange.

Scavenger was a good enough distance away that I couldn't see the patient too well because of his small size. That didn't change the fact that not too long ago, I had seen Starscream's body in a morgue. Added to that, of course, was that he had just barely come back alive from achieving a victory that no one had thought possible of someone like him. Come to think of it, until quite recently, hybrids between transformers and humans hadn't been a possibility, either. It was no wonder that my breath was short, and I sweat was trailing down the back of my neck.

Swindle was clearly agitated. He wildly beeped, and tugged on my arm.

I threw my head back to meet the optics of Scavenger, who was staring down at the Mini-Con.

"I know it'll call attention to us, but can't we just let him get close to Starscream?" I begged.

It wasn't just Swindle's friend that was in danger; it was a piece of himself. That was how close the connection was between Mini-Cons and the transformers who found them.

Sureshock and I didn't have this particular link because my organic mind didn't mesh with computer data. We would just be friends, and nothing more.

It was far less miniscule that it sounded, but it didn't hold a candle to the partnerships of Starscream and Swindle, Optimus and Sparkplug, Hot Shot and Jolt, Wheeljack and Wind Sheer...The list went on and on. Starscream was organic now, but he still counted on the transformer list because of what he once was.

When I lost my mother, I lost the sureness that she would always be there. To say it was a shock would be an understatement. A seemingly permanent fixture in my life was gone.

If Swindle lost Starscream, it would literally and figuratively be half of him that would be gone as well. I simply couldn't imagine that. I didn't want to.

I thought of Incinerator and Longarm. I didn't want to see that sort of tragedy happen again, especially considering the fact that I would be losing Starscream as well.

Scavenger thought for a moment, and nodded solemnly. "All right."

Swindle beeped his gratitude as Scavenger called Optimus over. Ratchet was busily stabilizing Starscream.

I tensed for a moment, but reminded myself to relax. I needed to keep a poker face.

Optimus warmly greeted us. "I'm glad to see you are all right," He looked over each of us in turn, and when his gaze rested on Swindle, he asked, "Scavenger, how did you find him?"

Thankfully, he had an explanation. "We found him in a small, once-sheltered area that had been damaged from a misplaced shot. He told Alexis that Starscream hid there so he would be safe."

Optimus nodded, and held out his hand for the Mini-Con. I had to be thankful that he trusted Scavenger so much. "I can take him to his partner."

Swindle gave Sureshock and me a quick wave. "I'll tell Starscream you're all right when he wakes up, Alexis! He was worried about you!"

I blushed, feeling glad that neither Optimus nor Scavenger could hear what had been said. At least Swindle had a positive opinion about Starscream's condition. We could only hope that his hopes were well-founded.

"Scavenger, once this over, I want you to be sure that the kids are on their way back to Earth." Optimus commanded, gesturing toward me for emphasis.

His third-in-command nodded. "Of course."

Our leader looked down at me. Genuine regret was in his tone. "I'm sorry, Alexis, but I'm afraid that after this, the problems that need to be solved on Cybertron will be out of human hands."

I smiled reassuringly, clasping my hands together in my lap. "That's all right with me. Home sounds...nice."

The truth was that home actually sounded like a foreign concept to me after this fighting, but I didn't have a choice. Humans only seemed to complicate Cybertronian politics.

Speaking of humans...

"Optimus, how is Ratchet going to be able to completely fix Starscream up?" I asked.

He looked away for a moment, and returned his gaze to me with a sigh. "There is a machine that we have on this planet. It is in the possession of our faction only. It allows transformers to temporary create and use their very own bodies of a different species."

"WHAT?" I exclaimed. I would have jumped up, had it not been for my legs. After all of the xenophobic ridiculousness that we'd had to go through, the transformers could have become one of us the whole time? How in the world did that make any sense?

"Alexis, calm down. You're wearing yourself out." Scavenger ordered.

I actually wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but decided against it.

"Alexis, I promise I'll explain this to you as soon as I can," Optimus's gentle voice drew my attention back to him, "But for right now, you need to trust me." I could see the pain in his optics from not being able to relate this information to me, although he wanted to.

As much as I didn't like any of this, I accepted it on his behalf with a nod.

He saluted Scavenger, who returned the gesture, and after depositing Swindle with Ratchet, left the area.

Once he was sure Optimus was gone, Scavenger turned to face Elita. Her head was in her hands.

My frustration from earlier melted away as pity overtook it. I was lucky to be able to go home. She still had to find her way back.

XXXXXX

Time raced on. The gunfire became less and less until it eventually grew silent.  
It was crushing for a moment. Everyone was on edge as they waited for something, be it a shot, scream or explosion, to break it. Nothing did. Sureshock and I clutched each other tightly.

The eerie feeling didn't leave, but we did become more accustomed to it.  
Conversations began to be whispered again.

At this point, Ratchet had fully stabilized Starscream, and the repairs to the other Autobots had been finished. A few guards (especially Bluestreak, it seemed) looked over out of pure curiosity at who that small, fleshy figure with the red Mini-Con that the medic was holding, but they were promptly told to keep their optics on what lay beyond the area.

The moment finally came. Scavenger received a com link message from Optimus, and with a tired expression, he mouthed the word, "Finally."

He turned to Elita. "Optimus has called a meeting for all Autobots at the site of Galavtron's body."

She nodded in understanding, and attempted to straighten herself up as the whispered conversations turned to chatter. Others had gotten the message as well, most likely through Ratchet and First Aid, the former of whom told Scavenger that he would take Starscream to the base after the meeting.

"I'll remain here until it is completed. Then I'll," she paused to shrug, "Make my appearance, I suppose."

Scavenger saluted her. "Good luck, Officer."

She returned it with a smirk. "I make my own luck."

He laughed. "Now that's the Elita I know!"

XXXXXX

The Autobots formed a multi-colored flood as they neared the meeting area. All of them looked battered in one way or another, and some looked so bad, it was a wonder they were still up.

I felt tears in my eyes as I saw the extent of Hot Rod's injuries. Half of his facial armor was torn completely off. It was easy to see the metal that forming his tightly clenched jaw. The optic on that side glowed eerily against the metal. His arms and the upper part of his torso had misery-making scratches. I guessed they weren't bleeding energon because he had seen a medic.

He was led along by Arcee, who was limping. Her left leg had a crippling gash near the knee. A jagged slit ran from her right shoulder to right hip.

As bad as I felt for the two of them, I was glad to see them move on ahead, especially considering that it was in Bumblebee's direction. He could take care of him for a while. Hot Shot would be miserable to see his cousin in that state. The consolation was that at least Hot Rod was alive. Poor Springer.

Ironhide passed us as well, I gasped when I saw that he had no arm. He paid me no attention as he marched on, his face set.

I wondered for a moment if Chromia made it out all right, but was answered when she shouldered her way over to Ironhide. She had a few fingers missing, and serious dents around her chest and head. They shared a glance for a moment, and then nodded to one another before continuing.

I smiled at that. In a sense, it was happy ending for someone.

"Scavenger!"'

My smile turned into a grin at the familiar voice as he turned around to face Hot Shot, Sideswipe, and Wheeljack. A few Autobots glanced over at the former Decepticon suspiciously, but looked away when they saw that he was causing no damage. Hot Shot, who was still holding Blurr's sniper rifle, had been the one who had yelled. Each of three had nasty dents and scratches on them, but they were still standing strong. Wheeljack, much to my relief, had had his major injury repaired.

Sideswipe was the first over. He quickly saluted Scavenger, and let out a sigh of relief. "Glad to see you're all right, Sir!"

"Hey, he's not the only one!" Fred's voice caught my attention, and I threw my gaze to the mech's shoulders. He and Billy were sitting on Sideswipe's shoulders with Nightbeat. All three looked just as exhausted as Sideswipe was. Fred was pointing directly at me, and beaming.

I eagerly waved back. I would have jumped up, had it not been for my legs. "Hey guys! Thank God you're all right!"

"Alexis?" Sideswipe and Hot Shot, who had arrived next to him at that point, exclaimed in surprise.

"There she is, man! And Sureshock too!" Carlos cried out, tugging on Rad's arm enthusiastically.

Rad's eyes were bright as he called out our names. He was so relieved that we were there, and needless to say, I felt the same way about the guys. The Mini-Cons, including Incinerator and Inferno, were still with them. Grindor and Highwire were beside themselves upon seeing Sureshock.

I turned to Scavenger, who was already lifting his hand with a smile. "I'll see you soon, Alexis."

"Thank you." I replied as I got on with Sureshock. We settled onto Hot Shot's shoulder between Rad and Carlos, who had moved to give us room. The two were staring at us like we'd just come from another planet, as were Jolt, Grindor, and Highwire.  
I couldn't blame them; we could've been dead, for all they knew!

Once we got onto his shoulder, we were quickly engulfed in hugs.

The hugs increased when Sideswipe brought over Billy and Fred, and everything exploded into rapid-fire beeping, exclamations of "We're okay! We're okay! We're okay!" from us, and quite a few rounds of hopping up and down (although not very much from me), complete with the background noise of Hot Shot apologizing for dropping me, and Sideswipe and Wheeljack saying they were sorry for failing to catch me. Sureshock and I repeated over and over that it was all right.

We were lucky; we had our own little happy ending for the moment.

We finally calmed down, and Sureshock and I sat down on Hot Shot's shoulder. Rad and  
Carlos were gripping onto each of my arms, and Highwire and Grindor were doing the same with Sureshock. It was just in case.

It was then that Scavenger asked about the rifle and Incinerator's presence, although I had already told him.

Hot Shot sighed, and held out the rifle sideways to Scavenger, whose face was like chiseled stone. Hot Shot's head was lowered, as were Sideswipe's and Wheeljack's. Incinerator beeped mournfully.

"Sir, Blurr fell in combat. He gave his life to defend all of us. He placed me in charge of his rifle and his Mini-Con after his death, but I think they will be safer in your hands." It hit me hard when I realized that Hot Shot really had to swallow his pride before saying that.

Scavenger was silent for a moment, and then nodded before taking it. "Thank you, Hot Shot."

Incinerator climbed onto his hand.

The solemn moment was taken away when we realized that the meeting was about to start. Scavenger quickly took his post on Optimus's left side while holding the rifle. Jetfire took the right while holding the Requiem Blaster. Optimus was in the center, and carried the Star Saber at his side.

He waited until we settled down, and began his speech with a long, sweeping gaze over the gathered crowd. It was clear that he was filled with pride. He looked so much younger, so much more hopeful. I was so happy to see him like this, but in the pit of my stomach, I knew it didn't have long to last. Elita would make her entrance soon, and even worse than that, Optimus had to lead the Autobots through their hardest task yet: rebuilding Cybertron.

At last, he spoke. "How long has it been? We've asked ourselves that for thousands of years. When will we stop living for tomorrow, waiting for a day that the Decepticon threat is gone? It is unfortunate, but I cannot say that day has come."

I raised an eyebrow. What was he getting at? That sounded awfully pessimistic.

He answered my question. "What we can claim, however, is that we defeated their tyrannical leader, Galvatron."

Optimus paused for a moment to let the information set in, and then continued, "The nightmare he made himself into, has been vanquished. It wasn't only Galvatron's doing that he became such a monstrous incarnation."

He looked down at the leader's body. Pain was in his voice. "It was he who initiated this genocide, but in our race to stop him, we created our own."

Optimus looked up, and addressed everyone with a sad expression in his optics. "I do not have the right to accuse anyone because I myself have felt compelled to do such a thing," the gaze became hard, "What worries me, however, are those who have given into the temptation to needlessly kill a Decepticon. If we continue to follow Galavatron's path, it will be our bodies that will be lying here next time. The deaths of Ultra Magnus and so many others will have been in vain."

"But," he added after a moment, "There is a reason why I still hold the Star Saber, but not aggressively. I will defend my friends from whoever else tries to harm them."

I felt slightly aggravated at his words, but pushed them away. Just because Optimus didn't mention anything about the Mini-Cons not wanting to fight didn't mean he wasn't considering it. He was talking to the entire Autobot faction, and not just the team. It just served to remind me that the Autobots still had several issues to still work out among themselves.

His tone was slightly lighter as he held out a hand to the sweeping horizon beyond, which was partly shielded from view by the remains of the buildings. "Now, let us focus on the most important task: recreating our home!"

The group immediately dispersed, talking quietly among themselves. It had been a much less energy-filled speech than the one before the fighting, but at that point,  
I understood why: Optimus and others were tired from and of battling.

It wasn't long until our little team and Wheeljack were all that remained. Ratchet was going to board the Axalon with us.

"Hey bro, did you see that femme?" Sideswipe muttered to Hot Shot, who looked over.

"Geez, and I thought I'd seen the worst of 'em."

I already knew who it was. Elita tried hard to keep a dignified pace as she strode past us towards Optimus.

"Hey, do you need some help?" Jetfire called over to her, apparently not recognizing who she was for a moment.

She shook her head for a moment as she came to a stop in front of Optimus. Scavenger had started a conversation with him, most likely to divert his attention away in order to give her a little more of a confidence boost.

Our leader turned to face her, and looked about to say something until he took in her form before him. He stood stalk still, as if trying to register who was standing before him.

"Optimus?" Elita asked tentatively, holding a hand out to him.

He grabbed her hand tightly with his own, and used the other to tug her to him.  
Optimus hugged fiercely, as if terrified that she would vanish from him if he let go, as he cried out in a broken tone, "I thought I'd lost you!"

As the guys asked what was going on, I let out a relieved sigh, and smiled at Sureshock. It would be hard for Optimus and Elita, but at least they got to see one another again.

XXXXXX

"Alexis, this is your place, right?" Sideswipe asked gently.

I opened my eyes slowly from where I was laying my head back on the passenger side seat, and stared bleary-eyed out of his window.

Yes, there it was: my house. It looked so dark, quiet, and, well, peaceful in the moonlight.

I glanced over my shoulder at Billy, who was lying down in the backseat. Fred had already been dropped off at his place. He yawned and gave me a tired thumbs-up. Carlos, who was sitting at the driver's seat, smiled and said encouragingly, "Hey, if you think of it this way, we're all in the same boat here."

I laughed, and stretched out my arms before undoing my seatbelt. "Thank you, Sideswipe."

"Not a problem. I promise we'll be back soon. We just have to clear a few things up, and you guys'll be hanging out with us again before you know it."

I smiled at his encouraging words as I got out.

I placed my hand affectionately on his hood as I looked behind him toward Hot Shot. Rad was driving, and Highwire, Grindor, and Sureshock were inside.

I knew things were going to get a lot harder for all of us from then on out. The ride back home on the Axalon had been a sort of oasis for us to tell tales of the battle, and to just be kids. The guys had told me riveting accounts of hiding from the Decepticons, and being a part of an impromptu squad that took down Tidal Wave once and for all, while I told them about Sureshock's and my journey with Scavenger.

We had decided to refrain from asking about the machine that Ratchet was using to heal Starscream. We'd have plenty of time to interrogate Optimus, Jetfire, Scavenger, or Ratchet about it when this all blew over. We didn't care how long it would take; we had just faced the challenge of our lives, and won.

Rad put his hand on my shoulder as I finished unloading my bag from Sideswipe's trunk. "It'll be okay, Alexis."

We were all soon to be in deep trouble. Spring break had clearly ended, meaning our parents were going to desire some very good explanations from us. They were probably also going to issue out some very harsh punishments. I was actually thankful that the Autobots would be away for a while; I probably wouldn't be going anywhere until I was forty.

I sighed as I sat back on Hot Shot's hood, folding my hands in my lap and lowering my head. "I hope Hot Rod feels better." I murmured.

"Knowing him, he'll be up in no time," he joked, "But thank you, Alexis."

"I just wanna stay out here. I'll miss you guys so much, and..." I broke off, fastening my hand around the pendant and closing my eyes. I would miss Sideswipe a lot, but I really, really didn't want Hot Shot to go. He, Red Alert, and Optimus had been the first Autobots to arrive on Earth. Red Alert was gone, and Optimus couldn't see us off; too much work. Tears streamed down my face from my closed eyes.

Hot Shot's engine purred a little louder as he gave off more heat to comfort me. "I promise."

"Thank you so much." I replied softly, wiping my tears away. I nodded at Rad, and went over to Sureshock after picking up my bag from the pavement. He had "unloaded" her while she was in her vehicle form.

I stood there on the sidewalk with my human items in one hand, and my dear friend just under my other. Dear friend...I had made so many of those in just a short amount of time.

A lump formed in my throat as I watched Rad get in, and Hot Shot and Sideswipe took off.

For a second, I wanted to throw down my bag and run after them, but I knew I couldn't.

Instead, I watched them vanish off into the darkness, and felt a hollowness inside that threatened to choke me.

What brought me out of it was the fact that I was gripping onto Sureshock's handlebar. She was still there, and that went more than anything.

Quietly, I walked up to the house, taking care to let go of her and put my bag down on the porch before carrying her up the stairs with both hands. Usually, Sureshock was housed in the garage, but opening it was out of the question. She would come in with me.

I pulled my house keys out of my pocket, and fumbled for the lock. It would have been a lot easier, had the porch light been on.

I began to sweat a little at how long this was taking, but finally, the key turned, and I was able to enter.

I swear, I closed the door as quietly as I could, but somehow, Dad still heard me.

I groaned as I heard him running toward the stairs, flicking on the hallway light as he went. My heart thumped for a moment as I saw his shadow on the wall, I actually cowered a little.

He paused at the top, his tall form shadowed in the frame leading to the stairwell before flicking on the light.

I let out a cry, and held up a hand to my eyes. It was quite a contrast to the outside darkness.

"ALEXIS!" Dad exclaimed. I felt ready to cry when I heard him. His voice sounded so miserable and full of worry, and it was all because of me.

I could feel new tears on my face as he ran down to me, and threw his hands around me.

He held me tightly as if I was a little girl all over again. I was reminded being inside of Scavenger's hand for a moment.

"Dad!" I whimpered before breaking into sobs on his shoulder. It was then that I realized he was shaking, and crying as well.

My knees gave out, and I almost fell down, but he held me up, and I remembered that  
I was still in trouble, but at that point, it didn't matter enough for me to get yelled at. What mattered more was that I was home and safe.

War...Killing...Death...It all seems so far away when you're in the arms of your loved ones.


	28. Chapter 28

Starscream's mainly being out of the action is a reflection of his paralysis. He heals faster than a human because he isn't fully human, and Alexis is caring for the Mars rock.

I own nothing.

* * *

Waking up was actually the easy part.

No sooner had the ugly image of Galvatron faded away, I was staring up at a silver ceiling in a low light. The physical pain he had just caused me was gone. A continuous series of hums and beeps sounded around me, as did a small pulsating noise. I was lying on something soft, but stiff. I felt as if several objects were sticking into my arms and legs, and when I tried to move them, they remained due to something that was covering my skin. I could feel the exact same in my wings, only tripled. An object was clamped over my nose and mouth, and I realized the pulsation was the sound of my breathing. The pain in my back was gone, but I could feel the bandages covering it. Could what had happened in my vision have carried over to the living world? That was insane.

The urge to sit bolt upright and look at just what had become at me died because of two things. The first was that I really didn't want to know. The second was that I felt so completely weak and drugged up that I didn't feel the strength. That ruffled my feathers, but I could bet that without the drug, I would probably be writhing in pain.

"Glad to have you with us again, Starscream." A voice I didn't recognize came from the right side of the berth.

I flicked my eyes to that side, and they widened when they took in the form of a human doctor sitting in a human-sized chair, and holding a human-sized data pad.

I couldn't help it. I shook at what I saw, and my breathing sped up. What the hell was going on?

"Easy, easy!" Exclaimed the doctor, rising from the chair and setting the pad down before rushing over to me.

Like that was going to help.

He placed a hand on what I supposed was either a bed or a miniature berth, and continued in a gentle but firm tone, "It's me, Ratchet! Calm down!"

I stopped shaking long enough to get an actual look at him.

For a few moments, I was ready to say that this human was out of his mind. Afterwards, however, it began to register. The platinum blonde hair, although attempts had been made to keep it maintained, was scruffy. Strands of gray lanced through it in a few places. Stress lines and wrinkles lined the shape and set of the nose, mouth, and the perceptive blue eyes. There were scars among the natural lines on his face and neck, indicating years of wear and tear. There was also no mistaking the crosses that were on his shoulders. The form was completely human, it was true, but it also carried Ratchet's character.

How…Wait…My brain was too sluggish to think back enough, but something was familiar about this.

Ratchet, having seen the recognition in my eyes, explained himself. He backed up for a moment so I could feel more comfortable before saying, "You probably saw a little of this when you were younger.

Ratchet needed to give me another hint.

He continued, "I apologize if you can't clearly recount it. I had to inject you with a good amount of medicine. I'll get into that later. You know that while the Mini-Cons were asleep, both factions had to import resources in order to continue the war."

No slag. Considering how Cyberton had looked when I last saw it, I knew we would have to do it all over again. Lips, meet aft.

He spread his arms. "That's why both sides created a device in order to forge diplomatic ties with the populaces of other planets."

That's right; it was coming back to me. I'd seen some of our officers like Shockwave and Soundwave take on new forms so we could chat up different races, and get what we wanted. Galvatron, of course, didn't trust me enough to have me go undercover. That was ironic, seeing as how it was his fault that I was a hybrid. I couldn't remember which side had made the machine first, and it didn't look like Ratchet knew, either. The Autobots still had theirs, but something happened to the Decepticon model…

The memory was fuzzy, but it was more than nothing. One of the planets we'd tried connecting with had serious issues with organized crime. The natives resembled some sort of reptile. Anyway, what the planet did offer were two things: one was a good number of iron ore mines. Two was a huge stock of weapons forged from this ore. We wanted both, and Galvatron's strategy was to use the different organizations on the planet against one another.

This backfired because of what else, the Autobots. Instead of making the rivalries between the different divisions worse, they offered ways to peacefully end their conflicts. It sounds wishy-washy, and as much as it was, it worked. The natives were tired of war, and allied themselves with the Autobots, instead of us.

Tired of war my aft! They turned their guns on us, and destroyed a good bit of what we'd brought with us, including the machine itself. Then again, it'd been Galvatron's dumb idea to set up camp there. Arrogant prick hadn't even considered that the creatures hadn't wanted to fight! Then again, I did say earlier that Galvatron basically lived on war, so I guess it fit his personality…I mean, utter idiocy. Take your pick, they both mean the same thing.

I nodded my head to show I understood what Ratchet was referring to.

"We kept our machine in the bowels of our base while the war raged. You and I both know that using it was out of the question because of the war's escalation."

Ratchet knew what he was talking about. Sending new resources and machinery back to Cybertron led to more destructive weapons being created. Much was lost, meaning that leaving the planet sunk more and more out of the question. A lot of those weapons never saw the light of day again because their power was uncontrolled; they would either burn themselves out, or mess up what was used to build them. The only reason we'd come to Earth was because of the Mini-Cons.

"When Optimus brought the humans with us, we knew we couldn't use it again; it was far too late, and time was working against us."

I called lip service. It really didn't take that long to make a new body. True, it would knock the transformer offline for while, since his/her mind was in a different shell, but that was it. Ratchet was just trying to be nice, I guessed. The real reason was probably because the Autobots on Cybertron were so focused on killing Galvatron after all that time that they really didn't want to be sidetracked by interacting with yet another outside race. Unfair was an accurate word to use. Egocentric was better. They persecuted me, meanwhile I at least didn't hide behind a honest face. It was a good thing the oxygen mask was preventing me from spitting that at Ratchet.

I knew I couldn't use the machine to become a transformer again because it could only switch one species over at a time. It couldn't support hybrids. A member of a hybrid species had been tested on the machine once, and needless to say, the machine became confused, and ripped its molecules apart.

He clasped his hands together. "But now, that's changing," after a pause, he added, "And we have you to thank for that, Starscream."

His tone was grateful, but grave. I was satisfied that he gave me the credit I deserved, but at the same time, I got his point. No way was everyone going to believe that I was actually the one who took out Galvatron. I was nothing compared to the gallant (oh, give me a break) Jet Optimus.

I gave him another nod, and he changed the subject.

"Now, I'll give you the lowdown about your current condition." He reached over and picked up the data pad, although he really didn't need it. While he talked, he barely glanced at it. I guessed it was part of standard procedure. Red Alert acted the same way while he was alive, but Ratchet pulled it off better.

The thought of Red nipped at me a little, but I let it pass. There was nothing I could have done. I reminded myself to ask Ratchet if Sideways had found his slimy way to the Pit once I could get this slagging mask off of me.

In the meantime, I had my own troubles to deal with. I really, really hoped I could at least walk again. If I had to spend the rest of my life completely incapacitated, I wouldn't bother debating it; I would kill myself.

"The damage to your body is rather extensive, but thankfully it's reversible," he began.

Well, thank Primus for that! I couldn't just walk again, I could fly again! I was damn lucky.

He held out a hand. "But don't jump the gun just yet. I said it's reversible, but it's going to take a good amount of time. You'll also need to listen to me exactly, or it won't heal properly. From what Red Alert's records say, you had a hard time doing just that."

I really wanted to roll my eyes, but I decided against it. I just had to take it. If I gave him that impression, this wouldn't turn out well. Since he was referring to Red's notes, I could only guess that Ratchet was our team's new medic. If so, that was great for us. He was known by both sides for his skills.

I settled for yet another nod. I was really getting tired of not being able to speak.

After holding my stare for a good amount of time, Ratchet finally continued, "It will be at least six weeks before you can begin to walk again. Your hands, luckily, will become useable again after two weeks. Until that time, I'm going to focus on getting you off the respirator, the IV, and the stabilizers. Now, I know you'll need a few days to rest, but afterwards, we'll begin making you stronger once more."

My next question was written on my face.

"I won't start you on flying until six weeks from now."

Twelve weeks? I was hoping I wouldn't be dying of boredom until then. What was I going to do with myself?

"In the meantime, you'll need to have those bandages periodically changed. I'm warning you now: you try and make the job more difficult than it already is, and you won't like the results," He leaned forward as he asked, "Are we clear?"

This was humiliating. Not only was I being treated like a sparkling, but I was also forced to communicate like one. A final nod came from me, and the topic was settled.

"All right, then." Ratchet replied in a satisfied voice, although his face said otherwise. He still was suspicious that I would act up, and even though I didn't blame him, that didn't take away the fact that I still felt insulted.

"You'll be under my observation until you are strong enough to go without these." He gestured at the respirator, which was attached to the bed above and behind my head. The devices that were taking care of pumping energon, water, food (courtesy of the Axalon's supply), and drugs into me were positioned nearby, with tubes extending to the sides of, and into, the bed. It made me sick to look at them.

I raised an eyebrow at him. A day with Ratchet only, even if I was sleeping the entire time, seemed boring. Besides, didn't he have anything better to do than just sit there, wearing a human skin? Even if it would only be for a short amount of time, there were still other things he had to do, like heal the team…Wait a minute…Wouldn't that have been handled first? Just how long was I out?

It felt like a clamp had just seized me. What about the others? Did they make it out all right? Losing Red Alert tore at me worse than I thought it would have. And what about my old Decepticon team? Sure, I hated Thrust, but the other three…I at least tolerated Wheeljack and Tidal Wave, and Demolishor and Cyclonus…Granted, I was mad as hell at Demolishor after finding out just what he'd done in the past, but that aside, Cyclonus and he had been constants in my life for quite some time. It meant something, even if the something was miniscule.

The humans...Hopefully they made it back home. As much as I wanted to see Alexis, I knew that getting a ship out in the middle of a post-battle, let alone a post-war, commotion would be next to impossible. Besides, I wondered just how long it would take Prime and Ultra Magnus to argue over it.

That left one final important group to me: the Mini-Cons. My eyes widened. Where was Swindle? I'd left him with Elita…If she'd been caught or killed, he would've been a goner. What happened to her, too? Was all that she went through in vain? And Swindle…Oh Primus, Swindle...

My body shook again as my head began to roll back forth quickly, searching for him. Ratchet commanded me to calm down just as my optics landed on him.

I let out a sigh of relief as Swindle beeped my name loudly and sped over to me, grabbing my hand, his optics glowing. It angered me that I couldn't fasten my fingers around his as he chattered away. I can't even put into words how good it felt to have my Mini-Con by my side once more.

Ratchet gave his own sigh, although his was of exasperation. Putting two fingers to his forehead and kneading it, he said, "I was about to call him over for you."

For a moment, I found myself wishing I could break his neck, but I let it go. Like Elita, Ratchet wasn't as experienced with the Mini-Cons. He saw Swindle as a power source, while I viewed him as something much more.

"Swindle will keep you company throughout your recovery. I have reason to believe that he'll be far more entertaining to you than me." Ratchet explained with a smirk.

There was so much I wanted to ask the two of them, but I couldn't. It wasn't just because I couldn't talk; I was getting tired. Ratchet's figure was beginning to fade away. I tried to fight to stay awake, but whatever had been injected in me was too strong. A few moments later, and I was completely out.

XXXXXX

The days seemed to melt into one another.

The ones where I was completely immobilized were the worst. All I could do was move my eyes and head. I was thankful both for the oath of the medics keeping Ratchet from talking about my condition out in public, and Swindle's loyalty. I really didn't need word of my state getting out. Of course, Prime, Jetfire, and whoever-the-hell the new third-in-command was had to look over the reports, but that was confidential. Still, I really wasn't warming up to the idea of Prime even thinking of babying me just because of my situation, and I definitely didn't even want to think of how helpless I was in comparison to the other Autobots that lived outside of my room, especially when a bunch of them didn't like me very much. Funny, I was a Cybertronian at birth, but at the moment, Earth was looking like the nicer place to be. There was precious little left on this planet for me.

XXXXXX

Finally, the day came when Ratchet unhooked the first of those infernal machines from me: the respirator.

The first words out of my mouth sounded hoarse (coming from me, that's saying something), and I had to clear my throat a few times before speaking, but they were words, anyway. "Well, it's about time!"

Unfortunately, I couldn't talk as much as I'd wanted to; the stabilizers were still messing with my head.

The few conversations I had with Swindle were well worth the effort.

The first thing he told me was that Alexis was safe, and that one of Optimus' first orders was to have her and the other humans to be placed on the Axalon, and taken home. I let out a sigh of relief. My worry over her had been for nothing. I'd been right at the start when I had decided that she could take care of herself. At the same time, however, I felt unhappy. I wanted to talk with her, but it would be a good long time before I would see her again. I also didn't know if I was going to get clearance to leave Cybertron, or not.

Ratchet noticed my reaction to the news. I could see it in the widening in his eyes. I hissed at him that it wasn't any of his business.

"When you're kept in my care, it is." He replied evenly.

I rolled my eyes. Oh tee-hee. Let's all get a look at Starscream, Decepticon turned Autobot with an affinity at humans. This was getting old.

Ratchet looked ready to say something, but shook his head. "I'm going to bother getting into it with you."

So, he was trying to make me look immature. As much as I wanted to bite his head off about it, I decided to let it go. I was going to be seeing a lot of Ratchet, and getting into a fight with him was just going to make me more miserable. Shame, I couldn't trade words with him like I used to with Red Alert.

The second piece of news took the two of them to explain. Elita had made it out all right, as well. Good. She'd had Swindle with her when she'd met up with Ratchet and the others. She was repaired a little, and reunited with Optimus. As much as I disliked the two of them, I was glad that it was worth it for them in the end. Still, it must've been a shock for Prime to see her like that.

Swindle shuddered as he talked about their part in the battle. Elita had managed all right for herself in the battle for a little while; she'd killed about one or two Decepticons, and went undetected thanks to a cloak and dagger style. That was, until a stray shot hit her. As dumb as it sounded, that nearly put her down for the count. After all those years of hiding with a good maintenance check, something like that could do a good bit of damage. She'd managed to find Ratchet and the others.

According to Ratchet, at that point of time when the three of us were talking, she was already completely repaired, and was busy trying to help keep together what was left of the Autobots. Probably a small number. I had a suspicion that she was also busy doing something else with Prime, but I didn't feel the need to voice it. I didn't need Ratchet yelling at me for talking about two leaders screwing. Besides, considering what Elita had gone through with Galvatron, that would be seriously out of line to joke about.

That left only one in our little junkyard group. I asked Swindle about Blitzwing. The fragger creeped me out, but he was one of the few I'd interacted with after I left the others. I already had a feeling about what happened to him, but it was worth trying.

Swindle hung his head. "He was killed in the midst of battle. Elita requested for him to be buried with the Autobots."

Well, at least he had the recognition, I guessed. Still, I didn't know if he actually would've wanted that. He didn't defect to the Autobots; he just chose to not be a Decepticon any longer. He deserved a little more compensation for everything, but I knew it wasn't going to happen.

It was funny; I had a treason charge still hovering over my head, not to mention the fact that I'd missed out on all the changes that happened after I'd killed Galvatron, as strange as that still sounded to me, yet I was using my time to ask about (other than Alexis) two transformers I had just barely known.

As a result, I had tons of questions to still ask, but I was getting tired. The stabilizers were wearing me down. I had to sleep, even though I struggled against the need.

After yet another agonizing day of trying to keep myself active, I was taken off the drugs for good. I'd waited longer than I'd wanted to with the respirator. With the stabilizers, it'd been pure torture. The IV's weren't so bad, even though I felt like an idiot because I couldn't even feed myself.

Since I could actually keep my head, I was able to learn more about what was going on.

My next question was as to whether or not everyone else on the team was okay. I can't believe that even though my experience taught me that the answer would probably be no, I still tried.

Just as I thought, Ratchet's reaction was a grimace, and the hanging of his head.

If I could've moved my hand, I would've buried my face in it. Instead, I settled for my shoulder as I asked, "Who was it?"

The ones I most hoped weren't lost were Hot Shot and Jetfire. As much as I hated to play favorites, they were the two I'd had the best relationship with.

"It was Blurr, the sniper." He replied with regret in his voice.

I looked up and met his eyes. I couldn't help but feel ashamed. I hadn't known Blurr that well. As a result, I'd been relieved that he was the one to go. That was a terrible way to think of him. Ratchet felt shame, as well, even though he didn't deserve to. He'd just joined the team because one member was gone, and lo and behold, another member was gone from the roster before he'd even had the chance to get to know any of us well. Or maybe he had known Blurr, since they were both Autobot officers. That didn't do anything to lessen the blow, though.

The air was tense. Swindle's hold on my hand grew tighter and tighter as silence passed between the medic and me. I couldn't feel his grip, but I could see it.

The problem was, that gaping hole left by Blurr's death would probably stay that way. Optimus' team hadn't had him as a starting member. He'd been called when the battle between both sides escalated. Now that Galvatron had fallen, I doubted that a sniper would be needed anymore. Then again, if the remaining Decepticons used guerilla tactics, a replacement might be important.

Nothing seemed to help. Red Alert had to be replaced because medics were always needed. We got injured all the time. It would make remembering him even worse. Now that Blurr had met his end as well, getting a new sniper would have the same effect. But if his place remained empty, we'd all have to deal with that emptiness every day. This was almost always never that hard when I was a Decepticon. Maybe there wasn't a strong sense of unity there (not to say it was nonexistent), but it did make dealing with loss a lot less difficult. But being an Autobot was just the opposite. I hated it.

"Anyone else?" I asked tersely.

Ratchet gave a bitter smile. "Thankfully, no."

I spat. "I guess it was a lot worse for others, wasn't it?"

He nodded, his eyes narrow. His eyes were fixed on the wall behind me.

I didn't want to ask him just how many were lost, or worse, forced to live with permanent injuries. I didn't want to know. All I did was lean back and mutter, "We're gonna need help fixing this planet up, aren't we?"

"Yes." Came his clipped reply.

Yet again, it was time to beg other planets for supplies. Yay.

Finally, the time came when I could move the tips of my fingers. Following that a few days of struggling afterwards, I was able to move both of my hands. I didn't have the IV's out, however, until Ratchet was sure I could move both of them.

I stared at my hands in shock. I couldn't believe it. The paralysis was going away. I was completely free of the wires, and moving at least a little bit on my own.

It was too bad I couldn't convince Ratchet to allow me to change my own bandages. It was embarrassing that he was doing it, but the good news was that he said they would be off within a week.

XXXXXX

It was around this time that I asked Swindle about what happened after Galvatron's death. Ratchet wasn't always in the same room as we were. He was a transformer first, meaning it would be hard for him to readjust to his body if he was away from it for too long. Besides, who wanted to be cooped up in the same area for so long? He and Swindle alternated times they could leave my area. It drove me nuts that I couldn't leave as well, but Ratchet promised that when I could walk again, I could leave at certain times. I was completely beyond impatient for that to happen. Whenever I slept, all I could dream about was being able to walk or fly again.

As boring as it was staying in med bay, at least there was plenty to talk about, and stuff to keep my hands busy. Otherwise I would have lost my mind.

I asked Ratchet if I was still on the chopping block.

He had an odd look on his face, and I wondered about that, too.

"Starscream, on account of the fact that Ultra Magnus fell in battle, Optimus is now the acting leader. He has ordered the charge to be repealed."

"What!" I exclaimed, "You'd think you'd want to tell me that a little sooner!"

"You didn't ask." He replied simply, folding his arms.

It took a little while, but I sort of saw his point. Now that Ultra Magnus was gone, the Autobots as a whole had to get used to having only one leader. Again, we had Optimus to thank for that. Ratchet wasn't sure how much an impact this news would make on me (not very much, save for the fact I wasn't going to get punished for something I didn't do, which gave me something less to worry about), so he didn't say anything. He must've told Swindle not to as well. As pissed as I was that I didn't know this sooner, I couldn't deny the fact that I'd shaken like a leaf right after I'd woken up. Ratchet probably didn't want to add to my stress.

Any stress the answer he just gave me created was released on the rubber ball I'd squeezed in my right hand. It certainly was taking a lot of wear and tear these days.

"Why'd Prime do that?" I pressed, "He was the one that allowed me to be found guilty in the court marshal in the first place!"

Ratchet tucked a strand of hair that was constantly getting in his way. First time I'd seen him do that. He then replied, "Optimus gave a speech after the war was ended. He wished to prevent another from breaking out by calling for the hatred of the Decepticons to stop," he scowled, and added, "That's what allowed you to be free. You were an example. Granted, as noble as Optimus' intentions are, those beliefs will take millenniums to completely die."

"Just as I was thinking." I let go of the stress ball to fold my hands, and exchanged a look with Swindle. We both knew that wasn't going to change anytime soon. Would Prime ever stop living in his fantasy world?

"But," Ratchet's slightly uplifting voice brought my attention back, "My taking care of you is an example of that."

I shrugged. "I guess."

He shook his head, his face stern once again. I never seemed to have much luck with him. "You of course remember Red Alert."

"Yeah…" Where was this going?

"You're looking that the mech who mentored him."

Slag. I should've known. Not only was I disrespectful to Red Alert, but I'd also maimed him and tried to kill him. Suddenly I realized how much hot water I was in, and the ball was back in my hand.

"Relax. If I'd wanted to kill you, I would've done it while I'd had the chance."

How relieving.

He held up a finger. "Instead, here we are. I'm taking care of you."

I felt like slag. I hadn't apologized to Red Alert about cutting off his hand, since I was following orders while doing so. Now that he was gone, it felt like I'd done something wrong in not saying anything.

"You know," I murmured, "I saw him die."

Ratchet nodded. "I heard you were on board the Axalon around the time that he was shot. Doesn't surprise me."

I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but I didn't. This was serious. "He died protecting me from Sideways. I know this isn't much, but when it happened, I felt completely helpless. The only thing I could do was yell at Sideways to distract him." At least making a nuisance out of myself had its perks.

Ratchet thought this over for a moment, and gave a small smile before rising, and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, Starscream."

"Maybe Optimus was right in making that speech." Swindle mused as the medic left the room.

"Maybe," I replied, "But we all have a long way to go."

Time crawled by. I asked Swindle what was going to happen to the Mini-Cons if Cybertron needed reconstructing.

He sighed. "The Autobots have decided they don't want us to assist them. Using us was what began the war, after all."

"Well, at least that's worth rejoicing over. You're free." I replied with a smile.

It fell when he didn't respond. "What's the matter?"

He shook his head, dropping his arms. "I'm afraid that no matter what happens, we'll never be free from our creator."

"Your creator?" I repeated, "Primus?"

Swindle's hand gripped the edge of the bed, kneading the sheets. "No, not Primus." I'd never heard his voice being strained before.

I couldn't believe it. I had once thought that Primus had created all transformers, including the Mini-Cons. If he didn't, then who did?

When I asked him that question, Swindle gave an odd answer. "Ask Alexis. She knows more about this than you think."

Alexis? How? Just what happened in the time I was away?

Swindle sensed that I was puzzled, as well as my urgency. He raised his head, and begged, "Please, Starscream. I really don't want to talk about it right now."

I couldn't bring myself to think that my partner was lying to me. After all that time we'd had together, it was next to impossible.

All I could do was reply, "Okay, I'll ask her."

I was glad I said that. Swindle began to look like himself again, not scared out of his wits as before.

Unfortunately, that didn't last long.

"So, if you don't have to work, what will happen to you? There're still plenty of Mini-Cons that are asleep on Earth, right?" I asked.

Swindle nodded. "That's actually where a lot of us are going to be living. Cybertron isn't safe for us right now. Optimus has actually set a date for those us who are gonna fly to Earth, and—"

"Wait, wait, wait." I interrupted, holding up a hand, "That's what happened the first time. You all fled to Earth to escape the fighting over you. Don't tell me there's about to be another war, Swindle!"

He was quick to respond. "No, that's not what I meant! It's just…Well, unfortunately, since the resources on this planet have been almost completely depleted, and the Autobots need what remains, there won't be enough to go around to support all of us. And…well, all right, maybe the remaining Decepticons, those that are being used as labor by the Autobots, or those still on the run, could try to take advantage of us."

So, that was the replacement for the Mini-Cons: prisoners of war. Classy. Well, Prime could knock himself out on that one. I just hoped he didn't mind having to take care of a few rebellions here and there.

"There are a few problems, of course," he continued, "The first is, we don't all wanna go. I'm staying longer so I can be with you. The same goes for the others that have partners on Cybertron."

I couldn't thank him enough for that. He didn't have to stay, especially after I temporarily abandoned him to Elita.

"There're also the Mini-Cons that were once partnered with Decepticons. Sparkplug and a few of the others are trying to get them to come around, but it's not working. We'll need Perceptor to speak with them, otherwise those like Leader-One will consider themselves too good to socialize with us." Swindle muttered agitatedly. He'd said Leader-One wouldn't kill him, but that didn't mean they didn't get along.

"So all of the Mini-Cons from both sides got recovered after the battle?" I questioned, evenly though I highly doubted it.

I was right. He groaned before answering, "Not everyone. An Autobot squad is searching for them. It's like Earth all over again."

Speaking of Earth… "Lemme guess, Perceptor could've made that job a little easier too, huh?" I mused, leaning back on my elbows.

Swindle rolled his optics. "Exactly, but we're not going to have him back until the Axalon arrives on Earth."

"Let's just hope that none of the humans spilled the beans on us in the meantime." I added, shaking my head.

"And there's that." Swindle reluctantly admitted.

"So, who's piloting the Axalon?"

"I think Hoist? I only overhear so much. I'm willing to bet, though, that just about the same Autobot squad that was dispatched to that planet in the first place will be the ones to take us back."

That made sense, but that also made me think of another missing piece to this. "What about Incinerator and Longarm? They lost their partners. What about other Mini-Cons that may have powerlinked with some of the Autobots while we were here?"

Swindle's optics were downcast as he replied, "That's why not all of us are leaving. Those who have just found partners need time to get to know them better. We can't just be carted around like supplies."

Ouch. Swindle probably hadn't realized it at the time, but he snubbed my intelligence with that last statement.

He gave his explanation as to why he said that. "Optimus has arranged for two of the three weapons to be sent to Earth. I can see the need, I guess, but it doesn't seem fair."

Our conversation with the Air Defense Team on board the Axalon replayed itself over again in my mind. I slapped my forehead, my eyes closed. "So, it's either be deprived of the right to live where you want to, or cause catastrophic amounts of damage to the faction that's trying to protect you. Gee, what a nice choice!"

"Pretty much," came Swindle's blank reply.

I uncovered my eyes to look back at him. "That leaves the Mini-Cons without partners. What about them?"

He fiddled with his hands. "They'll go to Earth, too. It's the only place left for them. You know as well as I do that a Mini-Con can only powerlink with one Autobot, and that's for life. That's why I scanned your image when you claimed me."

It was then that I noticed how timid and lost Swindle looked. He was actually rocking back and forth on his feet.

For life…Transformers had extremely long life spans, which meant the Mini-Con had someone to interact and feel one with for an extended period. I hadn't heard of a Mini-Con falling in a battle, or dying of old age. If the Mini-Con's partner passed, it would only have the memories to live on. A bond like that was hard and probably painful to break.

Suddenly, I felt completely disgusted with myself. Humans didn't live very long, and Red Alert once explained to me that my life span was shortened to that of a human because of my organic half decaying faster than my mechanical half. My spark could survive, but not for long without a functioning body. If I wasn't active to consume energon, it would die as well. Swindle had known this all along, and I had almost cut my life span completely off on two occasions. I was so self-centered that I hadn't grasped how bad of a partner I'd been to him. I'd leaned on Swindle for support, but I hadn't given it to him in return. Instead, I'd given him the worry of watching me fall stone cold dead because of my daredevil ambition. It had been worth fulfilling to me, but it had also been at poor Swindle's expense.

I threw my arms around him, hugging him as tightly to me as I could. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I cried, "I'm so sorry!" over and over.

Swindle didn't cry (I doubted his body was capable of allowing him to), but the upsetting noises he made in return showed the amount of pain I'd put him in. What killed me even more was that while my obsession with offing Galvatron was what nearly tore me from him, Swindle supported me all the way because it was important to me.

XXXXXX

After a long-aft time filled with therapy for my hands and arms, and discussing goings-on, I could finally feel my toes. It took even longer to begin to be able to walk again, but the feeling was beyond words as I was able to take my first few steps across the floor with Ratchet supporting me with his arm.

The ability to walk also gave me the chance to look at something I'd been curious about, and even somewhat scared of seeing: my back. Well, I just had to face to my fear. There was a mirror among the machines behind my bed in the room. Once when Ratchet was out, I walked over to it, Swindle beside me, turned, and lifted my shirt at the back while looking over my shoulder.

I dropped it almost immediately when I saw what was on the back, and Swindle gasped. My jaw clenched.

There were two ugly, deep slash marks on my back. I got those while I was in-between life and death, so I was willing to bet that each slash represented each time I'd almost died. If I was going to learn anything from them, it was that they were a warning. I couldn't be completely throwing caution to the wind again, or I probably wouldn't be coming back.

I turned to Swindle. "I think I'll be a little more careful from now on."

He nodded soberly. I wasn't going to give up on fighting, but that also didn't mean I was going to senselessly plunge into the thick of things.

XXXXXX

By this point in time, I'd learned the fates of the other Decepticons I'd served alongside during the battles on Earth. Swindle told me Elita had stepped over Demolishor's completely fried husk while the battle on Cybertron raged. Ratchet told me that (much to my surprise) Hot Shot actually managed to kill off two of them: Thrust and Cyclonus. To Thrust, I said good riddance. Tidal Wave was destroyed by a heavily-powered counter fire squad that Hot Shot, Sideswipe, and the newly-defected Wheeljack had been part of. I wouldn't've been shocked if Hot Shot would've gotten a medal for being involved in all of this. Sideways had also met his end, and it was witnessed by (surprise surprise) Hot Shot and Wheeljack. When I asked Ratchet about the particulars about Sideways, he replied that Optimus wished to tell me himself.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Because it's very important." He simply replied.

I looked at Swindle, and we both started laughing.

"So, when's he gonna tell me?"

"In a week," Ratchet replied, "Now, let's get back to practicing walking."

Still, that didn't take away the fact that later set in for me. Wheeljack and I were the only survivors of our team, and we'd both defected. Defect or die…Loyalty just couldn't hold up, and that was something we had all prided ourselves on at one time or another, Demolishor especially.

Ratchet held true to his word. I was allowed to walk around outside of my room for a little while. Although I wished I could've flown, it was still a change of scenery for me.

The med bay was massive, and to me, cold. The latter was because I was wearing a loose-fitting set of clothes I'd brought with me to Cybertron. At least it was better than those dreaded hospital gowns I'd heard of humans using. Ugh!

This floor of med bay for long-term patients was completely circular, and sometimes I had to flatten myself against the wall in order to not be trampled on. At least I wasn't noticed that much. After the trial, I really didn't want to interact with any Autobots outside those I could tolerate.

There came days when my joints felt so painful, I could barely even move a few steps. Sometimes it was that way with my arms. Ratchet told me that was to be expected; my body was getting used to using them again. At least I never asked for drugs when I was in pain, and they were never given to me; I had to get stronger.

XXXXXX

Finally, the day came when Prime came to talk with me. I actually got an interesting add-on: Ratchet told me that Elita had decided to come, too.

What really stunned me was that they came to speak with me in human forms. Ratchet stepped out while the meeting went on. Swindle was also outside, too. He was catching up on things with Sparkplug.

It was really, really odd to see Prime as a human. I'd grown so accustomed to seeing him as the powerful Autobot leader that he looked…well…weak and puny as a human, to be honest.

He was strong-built, don't get me wrong, but the age lines were easier to see his face than ever. Wrinkles and scars stood out on his face and neck. His gold gaze was much brighter and more piercing when he had optics, rather than eyes. They seemed to detract from the intensity. His hair was dark brown, but I could see that it was slowly turning gray. The military officer's uniform he wore was crisp and professional, but it was far less imposing than his mechanical form, since it had, oh I don't know, A TRUCK GRILL.

Elita actually looked fragile, but I knew saying that to her face would be insulting. Her long, black hair (tinged with gray, of course) looked like it was torn at the bottom and on the sides. Her blue eyes were set back in her face, with dark circles rimming them. They were creepy to look at. Unlike Optimus, who was tan, she was completely pale. Her scars stood out even more than his, especially on her neck. It was no wonder that she was wearing long sleeves. I was expecting her to wear a military uniform as well, but instead she had on a dark pink sweater and jeans.

"I'm glad to see you're recovering, Starscream." Optimus began. He'd taken the chair at Ratchet's desk, while Elita sat on the desk. I was on my bed, swinging my legs back and forth to keep the feeling in them.

"Thanks." My reply was short, but that was a given. I was wondering why he wasn't fed up with me after I'd disobeyed him again and again.

Even though I knew that was hanging over me, there really wasn't any tension in the air. It actually seemed sort of…pleasant. Elita actually seemed at ease, since she touched the back of her head against the wall. Prime wasn't slouching, but he also wasn't stiffly holding himself up, either. I couldn't let myself get caught up in the relaxing atmosphere. I had to stay on tenterhooks.

"I just wish we were speaking on different circumstances," Prime continued, folding his hands and giving me a disappointed look (as if that would affect me). I actually had to resist the urge to snort at him.

"I'm surprised you got me let off the hook, then." I replied evenly.

Optimus' eyes narrowed, and his mate's voice came from behind his shoulder. "Would you rather have kept the charges, then?"

She had her arms crossed, the fingers of one hand tapping her arm. Oh, joy. I'd conveniently left out the details about my behavior as an Autobot, and she'd obviously found out, anyway. Gee, there's some good news. Then again, what did she expect?

Still, the urge to laugh was continuing to build in my throat. It was almost as if they were my creators, and were about to lecture me.

It died, however, when Optimus replied to me. He actually sounded, well, kinda hurt. "You truly believe that I would have left you to such a fate?"

Wow, I'd actually made Prime of all mechs feel like slag. My opinion of him was really that low? I guess it was, but facing it like that…Well, it made me feel miserable.

I didn't want to reply to him. As much as I didn't want to look cowardly, it would make things seem even worse than they already were. What made me talk, however, was that we weren't sparklings. I knew how to use my words, and Prime was a big bot. He could take a few extra hits…even if the main fight was already over. I'd already put two and two together from what Ratchet had told me before, but I'd still wanted to make Optimus squirm a little after all the bullshit he put me through.

"Yes." I answered as noncommittally as I could.

He shook his head, running a hand over his face. Elita dropped her arms, and was looking down at him with a sad expression. As much as I'd thought it would've been great to finally put him in his place, the bad was definitely outweighing the good.

Leaning forward with a sigh, I murmured, "Sorry I said that, Optimus."

As uncomfortable as that was, it seemed to set everything back on track.

Prime looked up at me as if I'd actually just said that, as if he was making sure I'd actually said what I did. A few moments later, however, his expression softened, and he nodded. Elita went back to normal, as well.

"On behalf of myself and the Autobot faction, I owe you a tremendous debt. If you hadn't done away with Galvatron, I'm not sure if I would still be sitting here."

My eyes stretched wide as I realized how right Prime was in that statement. As weak as Galvatron had been, Jet Optimus had looked even worse in their final fight. He hadn't had much steam left in him. If Optimus had gone down, the Autobots would have had to rebuild without a leader.

I kinda was expecting Elita to grab his hand, or something, when he said that, but she didn't. She let him tell it like it was. I I'd been wrong when I said that Prime had been living in his own fantasy world; he'd just fully acknowledged his, as well as Jetfire's, own mortalities.

It hurt my pride to think that I was wrong, but at the same time, it felt okay in a way. He was a major improvement over the delusional Galvatron. It was too bad that the wrong one would have lived, while the right one would have died. Had I really made that much of a difference?

I began to feel a lot better. Galvatron hadn't expected anything out of a bastard sparkling like me, and I'd given him the ultimate smack in the face.

"I owe you, as well. You helped to reunite us." Her eyes glowed. That time, she did touch his hand, and he squeezed her fingers. As much as I felt inclined to wrinkle my nose at them, it wasn't worth it.

Instead, I asked, "Why are you in civilian clothes? Aren't you an officer?"

With a sigh, she shook her head. "I'm afraid I've been away for too long. I have handed my high position over to Chromia. She is more than capable, and I trust her."

Ouch.

"On the positive, at least Shockwave has been punished. Scavenger had gotten rid of him." She gave a bitter smile.

"Well, he had it coming." I agreed. That was saying little.

Talking about him reminded me of what I had found out in the scrap yard, and I turned to Optimus. "You said there was a truth for me on Cybertron. Well, I found it." I was completely nonchalant when I said it, but that was because I was trying to keep my irritation in check.

His face lit up for a moment. The next, however, he frowned. "That explains where you were after you left the Axalon, and before you found Elita. What did you uncover?" He was sitting completely bolt upright, indicating his interest.

I held up a hand. "First of all, how much do you know?" I wasn't going to blindly let onto anything. I wasn't a fool.

He exchanged a glance with Elita. So much for not being a fool. She'd known something, too, but I'd been so wrapped up in trying to get rid of Galvatron that I hadn't asked her anything. There was also the fact that I'd been seriously pissed at Optimus at that point in time.

Prime spread his hands. "I know that years ago, an Autobot warrior named Aura disappeared on several occasions, but always returned safely. She wasn't trained for special combat, so that was highly suspicious. I suggested to her mentor to have her put on surveillance, and he agreed. That unfortunately never happened because of lack of time, and higher priorities making it not an option," after taking a pause as if to collect his thoughts, he continued, "She slowly began to change over time. Aura used to follow orders without a word, but she was becoming more and more rebellious. She had been asked to see Ratchet or the other medics to detect what was wrong with her, but she refused. In the end, I ordered First-Aid to do a test on her, and he concluded that she had just become pregnant."

Rubbing the knuckles of one hand, he continued, "She disappeared after that, and wasn't seen again until we took a prison from the Decepticons. Her remains were found inside, and from the state of her body, it was found that she had had her sparkling before her murder."

I swallowed as he added, "Years passed after that, and Galvatron found a new second-in-command. He was very young for the position, and as a result, he had much to prove to his leader. The extent of how Galvatron forced him to meet those prospects was shown the clearest to me on Earth, when that very same second defected to the Autobots."

His faraway gaze was replaced with a cheerless one as he looked at me. "And now here he sits before me, having just destroyed that tyrant."

My hands fiercely gripped the sheets. Optimus had put two and two together long ago, but he hadn't acted on it. I knew why. He couldn't possibly had saved me before the war turned to Earth. Before then, I'd been completely brainwashed into thinking that I could only be a Decepticon. On Earth, he couldn't've told me. I wouldn't've believed him. That was why he made me look for the answers to my questions on my own. In his own way, Optimus Prime gave a damn about me.

I took a breath, and told Elita and him about all the pieces they were missing: the entire part of Blackflare's story that I'd seen, my visions, why I had my visions, Crypt, and anything in-between.

Elita was the one to respond first after a stunned silence. "The Mars rock…I've heard of a few objects like it."

I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

She nodded. "It is rare, but it has happened in the past. We may have the spark that gives us our life, but we transformers are inorganic. If a transformer feels a strong enough emotion, he or she can transmit a piece of himself or herself to an object that he or she comes in contact with. It is uncommon because the emotion has to be extremely intense."

When I crushed that Mars rock, my hatred for Galvatron was more than enough to be considered strong.

I nodded. "That makes sense."

"Still, you should have told me about the rock's connection to you from the start, Starscream. We knew that it had healing powers pertaining to you, but that was about it. The problem with studying these objects is that they are unstable. Their powers can have varied effects on their creator." Prime commented.

"You're not taking the rock from Alexis, are you?" I demanded.

"No, of course not. I wouldn't want to cause it any damage. That might have a negative effect upon you. I trust Alexis. I know she can take care of you."

I'd once been angry with Alexis because she'd always sided with Optimus. Now I understood how much of an advantage that was.

"Thanks."

"Speaking of Alexis," Elita called, holding up a finger and drawing our attention, "We still have the most important matter of business to discuss."

Before I could even say "huh" Optimus launched into our current situation on Earth. Sideswipe, Hot Shot, Hoist, and Scavenger were already there with the Mini-Cons that had been returned to the planet. Our human allies had gotten into a lot of trouble for being away longer than they said they would be, but somehow, everyone had managed to wriggle their way out of their parents' wrath. Everyone, that is, except for Alexis. Her father had caught onto the fact that there were greater forces at work than what she was letting on, and as a result, was demanding real explanations. She was as grounded as anyone could get. As a result, not only was yet another member of our team missing, but Perceptor also couldn't form because Sureshock was stuck at home with her.

"That's completely unfair!" I exclaimed.

"Whether or not it is isn't any of our business. That's her father's choice," Prime replied evenly, "but at the same time, we both want and need Alexis and Sureshock. We all miss them, and they are valuable to the team. We'll need everyone we can to continue keeping Unicron at bay."

"Who?" I asked in a lost voice.

It took both of them to explain that time. Lovely, just lovely. We had the transformer equivalent of the human deity, the Devil, hanging over our heads, and he was damn near impossible to destroy. All we could do was try to keep at least a semblance of peace among ourselves to keep his power level down. Maybe it was a good thing that we all were focusing our energy on foreign diplomacy. Unicron couldn't feed off of fighting between transformers and another species.

I also found out that we all owed Rad big time. We may have had our petty little battles here and there, but if it wasn't for him, we would've all been dead. I also wouldn't've had the best friend I found in Swindle.

"Okay, so why does Dennis think that there's more going on? Lemme guess, it's because he's seen me, isn't it?" I flatly asked.

Prime rubbed the back of his neck, and I knew I was right. "He'd wondered what had happened to you, since you were the last one he saw his daughter with. Alexis, unfortunately, couldn't come up with an excuse."

That had been the only weak point in our plan. Why hadn't we patched it up? Well…Honestly it was because we hadn't known if either of us was coming back alive.

"So what do we do now?"

Elita smiled. "It's simple. Why do you think we have created these human forms?"

I thought for a moment, and groaned. "Oh no, don't tell me."

Prime chuckled. "It's only temporary, Starscream. Once your wings have healed, we will depart for Earth."

Well, just perfect. I was going to have to introduce my "parents" to Dennis Wilson. Woo. Freaking. Hoo.

It was like magic when I felt my wings again. Ratchet had me go slow when I flew, even though jumping the gun was incredibly hard to resist. There were times when he literally had to hold me down, but it was worth it.

I could fly up to the windows in med bay, and look out. Shame there wasn't much to see, since med bay, like the rest of the surviving Autobot structures, was still underground.

Swindle was used as test weight to see if I could still carry things. He was like the lead the first time, but the more I tried, the lighter he felt. I was able to fly again, but it took about two weeks to hone the skill. I wished it would go faster both for my sake and Alexis'. Primus, I missed her. I couldn't wait to see her again.

XXXXXX

The day finally came when Ratchet told me to begin to pack up. It was getting time to leave for Earth. I was ecstatic to finally be out of med bay, but I didn't forget to thank him for putting up with me.

"Just do me a favor, Starscream," he replied sternly, "Stay out of here."

I was willing to hold him to that as I felt the fabric of my shirt rubbing against the scars on my back.

XXXXXX

The Axalon wasn't completely repaired from the Hydra Cannon's blast. A few good-sized dents remained, and its paint was badly chipped. At least it would get us there. The passengers were Optimus and Elita in their human forms, Hoist, who was piloting the ship, Ratchet in his robot form, Sparkplug, Liftor, Swindle, and me.

Jetfire was overseeing the take-off. He needed to remain on Cybertron and hold things together while Optimus was gone. Prime himself had appointed him to do this. I had no idea how the two of them had managed to slide this idea by the other officers, but I gave them credit. At least it wouldn't be such a break in leaders as it had been with Prime and Magnus.

Before we left, I made sure to speak with him. His repairs were finished, with only ugly scars to remind him of how he had been so helpless before.

"You miss Earth?" I asked, standing on top of the desk before him, and looking out the window to the Axalon's hangar.

He sighed. "If I said I didn't, that'd be a lie."

I'd heard earlier that after this, travel to Earth was going to go into a slow period for a while. The Autobots needed to reconstruct their shuttle fleet on Cybertron. Also, we needed to keep space travel to Earth under wraps. We didn't need any more humans wondering about us than there already were. So, talk about building a space bridge was beginning, but the issue was time and resources. Still, I doubted the project would be abandoned because the Mini-Cons were on Earth, and so was our team of Autobots that had their own families on Cybertron.

"At least it isn't forever." I offered, putting my hands in my pockets.

"True, and Prime'll be here too. What's a shame, though, is that not everyone's going to be able to come back."

I turned to look at him. "I'm sorry about what I said before."

Jetfire folded his arms. "It's going to take a lot more than that to get me to forgive you."

I nodded. I'd seriously hacked in to his pride when I'd said that his major injury had made him useless.

"But I should probably also say thanks for the help with Galvatron."

"What, aren't you going to say you had him on the ropes, and I just managed to get lucky?" I joked.

He laughed. "Nah, I thought I'd let you say it yourself."

"…Damn you, Jetfire."

"That's my name, don't wear it out!"

I smirked. He was rightfully pissed at me, but at least we were still able to mess around a little bit. The bond I had with Jetfire from Mars, and from the fact that we were both Seeker models, was enough for me to hope that someday I would be able to get that forgiveness.

XXXXXX

It was odd watching Cybertron fall away. It had felt cold and unwelcome to me when we had landed, and now that we were leaving, I felt nothing at all. That's a shame, considering it was my home planet.

I managed to catch up on things with Hoist before he went off to speak with Ratchet. A few more Mini-Cons had woke up, and it had felt odd to find them without worrying over the Decepticons causing problems. It was a new school year for the kids, meaning I'd spent what remained of the Earth spring, all of the summer, and a small part of fall in recovery. Time flies.

It felt odd to not have Blurr at the helm, but I knew I would have to get used to it. Hoist was a decent pilot, and that was what counted.

When I was putting my human clothes down in my room, Swindle shook my arm to get my attention.

"What is it?"

He pointed at the section of the wall where the concealed recess was, and I remembered my promise to him.

I felt the familiar leather brush up against my skin as I touched it. It was so strange; I'd worn it so often before, and now it was if it was something new to me.

I gripped the choker tightly as I pulled it out, and put it on, my wings vanishing from sight.

Swindle wasn't physically capable of smiling, but the excited beeps, and the way he grabbed on my hand was close enough.

I couldn't help but smile back.

After a fitful night of sleeping due to my anticipation, I watched out the window on the bridge as we passed by the Moon. I shuddered as I saw the faraway form of what used to be my Decepticon base. From this view, it looked completely harmless…

"That…That's Earth?"

I looked up at Elita's voice to see her standing with Optimus, the tips of their fingers touching as he showed her this world, so strange to her.

I looked over at Swindle, and murmured, "Maybe it's time I started looking forward for once."

After a pause, he replied, "No offense, but that's the best idea you've had in a long time."

For a moment, I was about to contradict him, but what stopped me was how right he was.


	29. Chapter 29

This is it, everyone.

I tried not to make Dennis look like an idiot. He's just worried about Alexis.

I was making up the conversation as I went between Dennis and the "Avians."

I own nothing.

* * *

Seeing the Autobots on Earth was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good to see them again after the longest time. It was bad because of how I'd acted before they'd left for battle. The boys were there, too. School had let out for the day.

The reunion with them didn't start right away. First of all, Scavenger had to give the status report to Optimus after everyone got over the fact that he and Elita were both in human forms. They had to give the lengthy explanation of that to the kids. Of course, Elita also had to get formally introduced.

When the attention was finally on me, it was a mixed bag. Hot Shot was the first to greet me. He sounded genuinely friendly, so that was a plus.

"Glad you're here, Starscream! Heard you were almost a goner!" He called.

I shook my head as I did so. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

"Can't argue with that." He replied.

Carlos ran over. "Hey, Starscream! Is it true you really killed Galvatron, man?"

Suddenly I was surrounded by humans. I tilted my head up to look at Hot Shot. He pointed at Sideswipe, who shook his head, and pointed at Scavenger. Scavenger gave me a knowing look, and then turned back to talking with Optimus. That was funny, considering he had to kneel on the floor in order to talk with him at a comfortable level.

Rad saw the gesture. "Yeah, Scavenger and Alexis saw the whole thing. We got separated, he found her, and—"

I whirled on him, cutting him off. "You got separated? In the middle of a slagging WAR? What in Primus' name were you thinking?"

"Easy there, man. She was okay. Alexis said it was just for a day, and the worst she got was a—" Billy was cut off mid-speech by Carlos slapping a hand over his mouth. "A scratch. She got a scratch."

I was highly doubting Carlos' statement. How could she have gotten a scratch while she was wearing a space suit?

"Look, the point is, she only got a minor injury. She's fine." Rad quickly assured, remembering how I'd threatened them against anything happening to her.

Seeing as how she wasn't right there for me to check, all I could do was nod and take his word for it for the time being.

"Besides, you kinda separated yourself from us." Fred muttered, fiddling with his hands.

He had a point, but I wasn't going to admit it.

Instead, I decided to answer Carlos' question. "Yeah, I took care of the piece of slag."

My shirt was suddenly grabbed by Hot Shot's fingers as he hoisted me in the air. "Well, it's about time, I say!"

"Hey! Hey! Put me down!" I yelled, flailing against his grip.

"Nah, you look pretty good up there. You're a flyer, after all." Sideswipe teased.

I glared up at him. If this was payback for what I'd done, it was extremely mild. I guessed that it would happen once the little reunion was over, and reality set back in.

The fun ended when Optimus laid out the plan to speak with Alexis' father. He'd called ahead, and after a long-aft time of talking with Wilson, managed to allow us an audience with him (yay). We would have to use Sideswipe again to keep at least some sense of continuity. It would feel weird for two rolling transformers to ride inside of one, but they could live with it. This HAD to work. Highwire and Grindor were getting edgy because of Sureshock being gone. The Mini-Cons needed their leader back. Hell, I needed my girl back.

We decided that Optimus and Elita would do most of the talking, since I always seemed to piss Dennis off no matter what I said or did (granted, usually what I did wasn't good, but that's not the point). Rad and Carlos tried to help me feel better by saying that even they couldn't impress him. Joy.

Swindle joked that I didn't count him in enough while I climbed into the back seat. I never did take him with me to the human area.

"It's okay, you have babysitters." I retorted. The humans could stay as long as they wanted because it was a Friday night.

"Ooo!" Carlos exclaimed as I shut the door.

XXXXXX

As the Arizona desert breezed by, I appreciated the fact that I was seeing this landscape again, with the Sun shining above me. Earth actually felt safe, and for the main part, I had my better memories there. I owed that mainly to the girl I was coming to help free.

It was actually pleasant inside the car. Elita asked questions about her surroundings, which Optimus answered to the best of his ability. Sometimes he had me chip in to help. Sideswipe really wanted to say something, he really did, but he couldn't. I could tell because his engine revved at different intervals, meanwhile we were on flat land, and nowhere near a race track or drag strip.

I smiled as we came down Alexis' street. I remembered walking with her one night, and sitting on the roof with her during another. Suddenly, this didn't seem so hard.

I walked leisurely behind Prime and Elita. I needed to keep my cool when it came to this.

I almost lost it, however, when we made it to the porch. Optimus didn't know what to do to get Wilson to open it, and I actually had to guide his hand to the doorbell. I swallowed back the laugh.

It was a good thing I did. The door swung open a few moments after, and three of us came face to face with Dennis' piercing gaze.

He stood straight as he gave us a look-over. His expression was scornful when he saw me, and I wanted to spit on him. I was tired of him. His eyes narrowed as he looked between Optimus and Elita. He was probably wondering what the hell they had done to raise a troublemaker like me. Oh, if he only knew the truth…It would make even his short hair curl.

Prime ignored that, and extended his hand. "Mr. Wilson? Adam Avian."

Dennis took it, but his face didn't change.

Elita offered hers next. "Ellen Avian, Sir."

"Don't call me 'Sir!' I work for a living." He corrected as he dropped her hand after shaking it.

Giving me a final scowl, he led the way in.

Elita didn't say anything, but her displeased face was more than enough. Optimus brushed up against her to calm her down.

"St-Gabriel!" Alexis called out elatedly as we came into her living room.

Warmth embraced me as I saw her. I didn't know until then how much of a release it was to see those beautiful emerald eyes of hers again. I grinned as I saw that Rad was right: she was perfectly fine. She sat comfortably in her armchair. Her hair was still in the same style, her outfit being the only thing that was different. I'd thought she looked very pretty before, but now she looked beautiful. Dangling from her neck was the Mars rock. Standing next to her was Sureshock. Wait a minute…

Elita gasped at the sight of the Mini-Con in her true form where Dennis could see her.

As for Wilson himself, he fixed Alexis with a severe gaze, which she held, but didn't return. He then asked us to sit. His daughter then took the time to study Prime and Elita in order to recognize them. I figured she got it when I saw her hands clutching the arms of her chair for a moment, and then letting go.

I was more compelled to clocking him in the jaw, but I felt Elita's fingers gripping my shoulder, and pulling me down on the couch with her and Optimus.

"So, would any of you care to tell me just what this thing is?" He asked, jabbing a finger in Sureshock's direction.

"Dad, I already told you!" Alexis yelled, "And she has a name!"

"Alexis." Optimus cautioned, holding up a hand as Sureshock let out a defensive beep.

Wilson turned his attention to Prime after Alexis fell silent. "She listens to you very well." He observed.

Prime nodded. "She's very well-mannered."

Dennis smiled proudly before replying, "I wish the same could be said for your son."

Elita's hand fastened around my arm as she replied, "I should think Gabriel deserves more credit than that! He is an accomplished young man with a strong drive to succeed."

The smile I gave her wasn't part of the act. I knew that she'd been speaking what she really felt.

She acknowledged it by letting the circulation flow in my arm again.

"I would like to think so, Mrs. Avian, but until he shows me otherwise, I can't think differently."

"But Dad, you've only seen him a few times!" Alexis defended.

When Wilson turned to look at her again, I opened my mouth to defend her, and myself.

Prime, however, was quicker. "Mr. Wilson? You asked me just what Sureshock is?"

"Sure—what?"

I was ready to laugh at him. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I couldn't screw up.

Optimus rose. "Sureshock. She is a Mini-Con."

Wilson's eyes just stretched wider and wider as the leader launched into his explanation. Prime must've had a hell of time trying to explain what she was in layman's terms without talking about anything too complicated like the war over the Mini-Cons, or Unicron, but he managed.

Dennis blinked. "So…A power source. Could human beings implement it?"

Sureshock squealed, looking helplessly over at Optimus. Alexis clutched tightly to her, begging, "Dad, please! You're scaring her!"

Elita and I looked at one another. This was exactly why we had tried to stay hidden.

I looked back at Prime to see his fist clenching and unclenching.

"Think of it, Alexis! You said it yourself, you wanted to become president, didn't you? Part of that is taking care of your people. If we could use this Mini-Con, we could save thousands of lives." Sorry Dennis, you would've sounded heroic if you hadn't been talking about using a living being like a slave.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Wilson, but that can't be done. Sureshock's kind isn't compatible with humans," Prime replied, gesturing to himself, "we have tried implementing the Mini-Cons for our own means, but the only compatibility they have with us is to become vehicles. Alexis' moped, for example."

Way to pull that out of your aft, Prime! I was actually impressed with the fake explanation.

Wilson, however, wasn't beaten yet. "Just who are you, anyway? I recognize the uniform, Colonel, but not the division. I'd be dumb to say that you were part of an anti-American guerilla force, but the fact that I don't know just who you are is what worries me," he turned to Alexis for a moment, and said, "I thought you told me he was an engineer."

Alexis sheepishly shrunk back.

Much to my surprise, Prime turned to me, and gestured for me to get up. "Son, take off your collar."

I stared at him for a moment.

His gold eyes were serene as he replied, "It's all right. The curtains are closed. Only we will see you."

I swallowed back the lump in my throat, and did as I was told.

Unlike the immature Christine, Dennis backed up a few steps, but said nothing, his gaze calculating. He then came forward, and touched my wings as if to see that they were real.

"What are these, products of an accident?" He questioned.

"No. We all have them." Optimus replied, pulling off his surname plate. Much to the shock of Dennis, Alexis, Sureshock, and me, antennae shot up, replacing his ears. A faceplate covered his mouth. The truck grill formed on his chest, but not without cutting through the fabric.

"Ellen, do you mind?" He asked, holding out a hand to her.

"Of course not." She stood, and took off her bracelet. Horns jutted out from beneath her hair almost immediately, and chest plate armor covered her entire torso.

I didn't know what to say for a moment, but as I looked closer, I understood what this was. Optimus didn't move the hand that was holding the plate, while Elita kept the hand holding the bracelet completely still. The items were holographic projectors, rather than cloaking devices.

"We are a race of beings all our own," Prime explained to a still-stunned Wilson, lowering his hand. The hologram stayed perfectly on him. It must have been motion sensitive, "And we have come to Earth to seek the Mini-Cons. They fled here from our planet due to a catastrophe that happened on ours many years ago."

It was Elita's turn to continue. "My husband told you that the Mini-Cons are not compatible energy sources with us. That is because they are our distant cousins. It would be like using one of your own genetic relatives as if he or she was a form of electricity."

"You mean like a gorilla?" Alexis tentatively asked.

Optimus nodded. "Unfortunately, one of our own, a warlord, thought of other means to use them. Slave labor was his choice, and so the Mini-Cons escaped with their lives. That warlord has since been vanquished."

"So, you're taking them home?" Dennis asked, his voice disbelieving.

"I'm afraid we can't," Elita replied, "The warlord's followers still exist on our planet. It isn't safe for the Mini-Cons there. Here, however, it is a sanctuary. The problem is, when the Mini-Cons' ship arrived, the impact caused them to plunge into a state of dormancy. We wish to awaken them, and let them live free."

"Wouldn't we on Earth have seen such a crash?" Wilson demanded.

"Even now, your planet is bombarded every day by meteorites. The size of the Mini-Cons' ship would have resembled one, and therefore it went by unnoticed."

I could tell why Prime was leader: he knew how to think on his feet.

"What does this all have to do with my daughter?" Dennis pressed, pointing at Alexis, who didn't shrink back this time.

"She and her friends were the first Mini-Con. We had feared their ship had been destroyed upon impact. The fear was banished when the Mini-Con released a signal, which we picked up on our planet."

"What, this Mini-Con right here?"

"No, a different Mini-Con. They are numerous." Elita explained, closing her eyes. I had a feeling it was too keep from rolling them.

"So, why are you keeping her on? Why was she away for so long?"

"She has helped to find other Mini-Cons. I apologize for her extended absence. It had been during a rather difficult expedition."

"You could also apologize for her legs! She was covered in bruises!" Dennis snapped, harshly tapping Prime square in the middle of his upper chest.

"Dad, I told you that was my own fault!" Alexis yelled. He didn't pay her any attention.

That was her injury. Dammit. Even if it was her fault, I still couldn't help but feel guilty for not being there to help her. The only silver lining I had was that she had been in Scavenger's capable hands afterwards.

Optimus pushed his hand away with as little force as he could. "I'm sorry for that as well. She was under our supervision, and we made a mistake. I promise it won't happen again."

"Promises only go so far. Don't you have waivers, or something?"

Thankfully, transformers weren't strangers to paperwork.

"She already signed it. I could print a copy, and bring one tomorrow if you like." Elita offered.

"What? She's a minor! I should've seen it!" He hissed, glaring at her.

"Please understand that your laws are not the same as ours." She replied evenly.

"I didn't say that I thought they were, but as long as the form was drawn up on American soil, American laws apply." He struck back.

"But the document wasn't signed on Earth soil," Elita soothed, "Alexis was on board our ship when it was drawn up."

I grinned at Alexis, who returned it. This really was going to be all right.

"All right, I'll look at it. I expect a copy of it in my hand tomorrow. Now, that just leaves one question," he turned to me, "Explain just what you are doing with my daughter, Gabriel."

This time I had to talk. He thought he had me pinned against the wall, but I wasn't beaten, not by a long shot.

"Well Mr. Wilson, I'll tell you the truth. Alexis' age was one of the main reasons why I usually worked alongside her and her friends. We grew close, and I have developed feelings for her." How I managed to keep my voice steady, I'll never know. I wanted to scream my head off at him that it wasn't any of his business while bashing his head on the coffee table. It was no wonder I was seeing his completely red in my vision, I was that pissed off.

He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, yanking me to him.

"Gabriel!" Elita and Alexis cried, while Sureshock beeped my real name.

Optimus' elbow came in-between us, knocking the fragger off of me. He then stood between the two of us, his back to me.

"Don't you do that again!" He lectured the slightly disoriented man.

"I'm just looking out for Alexis' sake." Wilson defended himself.

"Just what do you think he was going to do to her?" Prime questioned, folding his arms.

Instead of answering, Dennis looked away.

I was about to throw in a piece of my mind, but the look Elita gave me shut me up.

"Mr. Wilson, I can assure you that my son means her no harm. He was the most worried for her after she'd been injured." Optimus declared confidently.

"Then why didn't he save her? He's got wings, he can fly."

"He was helping me with something when it occurred, and yes, he can fly, but his wings can only carry his own weight. They're aerodynamically incapable of bearing two bodies." Elita responded.

Dennis cast a glance at the three of us together, and then at Alexis, who had risen, her face unreadable, but her eyes burning.

Finally, he sighed. "All right, I trust you. All of you. Now, I think we parents should step into the kitchen. I have some particulars I want to discuss."

Optimus nodded. "After you, of course."

Once they had left the room, I turned to Alexis.

She slowly walked toward me, her skirt rustling with her movements, her hand out.

When she cupped my cheek, it felt so soft and good.

"Let's talk on the porch." She decided.

I nodded, placing my choker back on as Sureshock transformed.

The Sun was setting, turning the landscape a surreal pinkish-purple. Alexis smiled and waved at Sideswipe, who sat dutifully on the side of the road. The door was closed to seal away the conversation inside.

When she turned back to face me, I could tell we both couldn't take it anymore. I didn't care that Sideswipe was right there, and probably wouldn't leave me alone for a while about what we were about to do.

She threw her arms around my shoulders, while I placed mine around her waist, my fingertips touching the soft cloth. My lips met hers, and it felt as if I was lit on fire. Her feel…Her smell…Her taste…I'd come so close to losing the chance to experience it all again.

It was only one hug and one kiss, but it was much more than that. It was my accepting my life going on. Galvatron was dead, but I still was here, and still had many years left in me.

We broke apart, and Alexis turned to lean on the porch railing. I stood beside her, and looked out across the lawn.

A small, black shape caught my eye. I pointed at it. "Jinx."

She was toying with some little creature in the Wilsons' yard. She would pounce on it, let it go, and then chase it around the yard, penning it in a smaller and smaller circle each time until she began to wrestle with it.

Alexis giggled, and turned to me. "Sometimes I wish I was her. The only things I'd have to worry about would be eating and sleeping."

I sighed. "I know what you mean."

Her smile faded, and she looked down. I knew she was waiting for me to start talking.

"Alexis," I began after a few moments, watching her head raise back up, "I'm sorry for how I acted, what I said…That was completely wrong."

She looked sad. "I'm glad you said that, Starscream, but I need you to understand something, all right?"

I nodded, but she didn't say what it was. Instead, she reinforced her previous statement. "I mean it. This is very important."

This time I didn't nod. Instead, I held out my hands, and she took them. A tear slid down her face. It glistened in the low light. She took a breath, and whispered, "If you ever do that again, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you."

It felt like a punch to the gut. At least she didn't say she was walking out on me, but it was close.

Her grip tightened, and more tears followed the first. "I thought you were going to kill me after your trial. You looked so angry. Then the insults, and finally, your running away…I know it was justified, but you have to see it from my point of view, as well."

Her words stung me, and the tears burned. It was torture. I was so awful toward this poor girl, and she was showing it to me.

I shook my head. "Galvatron's gone now. I'm done acting that way. If I could have gone back and changed that, I would have."

Before I could further explain myself, she whispered, her voice cracking with the strain of keeping it down, "I saw your body in a morgue!"

"Wha—"

She quickly launched into the story of what happened after I'd left, what the future could've been, the meeting with her deceased mother, and the importance to the rock, even though I already knew it.

She grasped onto its chain, holding it out to me. "I've done my best to take care of it, but the problem is, I need to know if it's worth it. I can't keep doing this, and expect a different result from it. That's insanity."

It took me a while to think of a good enough reply for her. I was definitely spooked by her vision, even though I hadn't seen it.

Finally, I reached out to her, and fastened my hand around the rock. My other hand grabbed onto hers, and placed it over her heart. "Then, you can guide me. I know I can trust you."

She smiled, lowering her head. Her eyes closed, and tears poured down from them. I let go to get rid of them.

"I'll take care of you." Alexis promised.

I hugged her once more until we got a hold of ourselves, and then she asked, "So, what happened during that time you were gone?"

I laughed. "Oh boy, story time."

I wondered just how long Optimus and Elita would be talking with Wilson. Well, I would have to make it count.

Telling her about uncovering my past was the hardest part. I had to let on about the dreams, which I had once refused to relate to her in the past. She wasn't thrilled, but she let it pass after a few unhappy remarks.

At the end of it, she was chalk white against the dark, night sky. The Sun was down. Her hands covered her mouth. When she dropped them, she whispered, "You…you could've died…when you were so little…Oh God…"

I knew she pitied me, but I didn't care. She was terrified for my existence.

I grabbed her arms. "I'm here. It didn't happen."

She slowly nodded, and cleared her throat. "So, how did you find Elita-One?"

That story was easier to tell. At least that time, Alexis felt bad for her and Blitzwing, rather than me.

"That was so cruel of Galvatron, and Lockdown, too! Whenever I think Galvatron has hit rock bottom, he just sinks lower and lower."

"Welcome to war, Alexis." I cynically replied.

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't I know it."

She told me the story of own "merry adventures" with Sureshock. I winced when I heard about how she'd banged up her legs. Then again, I winced at a lot of other parts, too. I hadn't seen the bloodbath close up like she had.

"It was really hard to sleep after seeing everything. I know this sounds crazy, but I'm actually glad I saw what it was like. It felt like the guys and me were pretending to be at war like little kids here. Now, I feel like I've grown up from that." She finished.

"Not much of a silver lining, is it?" I asked.

"No, but I'll take what I can get." Alexis strongly replied.

I smiled bitterly. "You have grown up."

She returned it just as the door opened, and Optimus and Elita, their holograms powered down, came onto the porch.

"We've finished speaking with your father. He has agreed to allow you to continue assisting us, just so long as you graduate from high school, and continue your studies in college." Optimus explained.

Alexis couldn't help but grin. "So, basically what I was doing before?"

I shoved her, and she shoved back. Jinx weaved in-between us to enter the house before the door closed.

"I also have to give him the copy of the waiver I promised. That shouldn't be too hard," Elita stated, clapping her hands together as we headed toward Sideswipe, Alexis towing Sureshock alongside her, "I'll create it, and all you have to do, Alexis, is sign it."

I couldn't help but notice that Elita was on the left side of Optimus, and they were directly in front of us. At the same time, I was standing on the same side of Alexis.

XXXXXX

"Sorry about that, Sureshock!" Alexis called as she unloaded the Mini-Con from Sideswipe's trunk.

He transformed, holding out his hands. "Don't look at me, I was created that size."

Sureshock herself transformed, and stretched out her arms. "Finally!"

She turned to follow Sideswipe (who Alexis was calling a thanks for the ride after), but thought better of it, and faced Alexis. "Do you want me to wait?"

Alexis shook her head. "Go ahead. Highwire and Grindor are waiting for you."

"Thank you."

When it was just the four of us, Alexis spoke first. "What you guys did back there…Wow…I don't know what to say. 'Thank you' just doesn't seem like enough."

Optimus smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You earned it, Alexis."

"He's right. You were worth it." This was coming from Elita, who had known her for only one day before this. That meant a lot.

"It wouldn't feel the same without you." I added.

My next comment was directed at the other two. "And um, I also wanted to tell you thanks for using the holograms. You could've made any story up about me, but you didn't. It made me feel more comfortable."

Elita had a mischievous glint in her eye before she clarified, "That was my idea. You listened to me when I told you about my difficult past, and so I wanted to repay you."

"And now it's time for me to repay you as well," Optimus began.

Elita dutifully moved out of the way so that he could stand completely before me. "Starscream, you know that tomorrow, Elita and I must return to Cybertron. I am giving you the choice as to whether or not to come with us. My men can't; they must remain here to help with the Mini-Cons. Likewise, Wheeljack can't come to Earth yet. I hate to say this, but he needs to prove himself worthy of being trusted again. You, however, can choose where you want to be stationed."

I didn't need a moment to debate it. "Sir, I'll stay on Earth. My place is here."

The warmth in Optimus' eyes showed that he had already guessed that I would say that. "Then you will. Starscream, I hereby order you to serve under Scavenger on Earth, effective immediately."

I gave him a salute. "Will do."

They were the next to go, and I grabbed Alexis' hand. "It's time for you to make your entrance."

She giggled. "With my escort, of course."

I smiled. "Welcome home, Alexis."

She squeezed my hand. "The same to you, Starscream."

XXXXXX

"You know, you never told me what it felt like to have parents again." Swindle remarked from where he sat next to me on the couch. I had plopped down on there with a small cube of energon while Billy and Carlos played a celebratory video game. Hot Shot and Sideswipe were talking with Alexis. I was going to join them in a few minutes. Sureshock was with Highwire and Grindor. Fred and Rad seemed to be debating something with Hoist, and it looked like Hoist was winning. Scavenger was off to the side Ratchet, while Optimus and Elita had a quiet conversation further off.

My eyes landed on them as I set it down. When Prime happened to look in my direction, I took my eyes off just as quickly.

Turning to Swindle, I replied, "It actually felt strong, and secure. Basically, think you and me. Whenever Dennis got on me about something, either of them came to help me."

"In your face, Carlos!"

"Shut up, Billy!"

"You really think that way about me?" Swindle asked curiously.

I nodded. "You're always there for me. That's more than I can ever ask for."

He shook his head. "You don't realize how much that means to me. Being a Mini-Con, feeling helpless comes with the territory. Everyone fights over you, and the only helping hand you can provide is the reason for the fighting. Hearing that from you shows that there is more to me than just that."

I grinned. I wasn't the only one starting my own life. Swindle was, too, as were the rest of the Mini-Cons.

My biological family had long since been destroyed by Galavatron. There was no getting them back. Here on Earth, though, I had my surrogate family to come home to. The Autobots, the Mini-Cons, the kids, Alexis, Swindle…

For a moment, the peace was interrupted by two snapshots flashing before my mind's eye. One was of a red visor. The other was of a sniper rifle. I sighed. Red Alert and Blurr were gone, but they weren't forgotten. They were a part of us, too. They were the reason why we continued hunting for the Mini-Cons, and resisting against Unicron. They couldn't come home.

"Hey, Starscream! Bet you can't beat my high score!" Billy crowed.

Carlos thrust his controller at me. "Here, you give it a shot, man. My thumbs hurt."

I smirked. "All right Billy, you're on!"

XXXXXX

Years have gone by since then. Things have changed, but a lot has still stayed the same. The Mini-Cons are still on Earth. The numbers were higher than we thought, meaning there are still more to be activated.

Cybertron continues to be rebuilt now. I rarely ever see it, but I can say that progress is crawling. The space bridge to Earth moved much faster, and it's actually finished. I revisit my home world only if there's a serious issue concerning all of the Autobots.

The fleet of Autobot ships is halfway through reconstruction. Since then, resources have been imported to continue rebuilding. I'm just hoping nobody screws up and starts a war before that's finished, but I really don't have much faith in average Autobot intelligence to begin with. If it does happen, the Mini-Cons will have to be shipped to Cybertron to be used as power link weapons.

Wheeljack eventually proved himself to Optimus, and he was assigned to Earth because he worked best with Hot Shot and Sideswipe. That wasn't to say they always got along; sometimes Ratchet and Scavenger had to break up fights between them.

Ratchet's gotten more used to all of us. He can be cranky and hard to work with at times, but he's a good 'Bot, and that's what matters. He often spends a lot of time talking about memories with Hoist and Scavenger, but he also knows that he has to stay rooted in the here and now.

Scavenger's proved himself to be a good leader. He keeps a close contact with Optimus and less often, Jetfire, and in the meantime, has us train in case anything happens. There haven't been many Decepticon uprisings on Cybertron, but the fact that there are is enough to keep him on his toes. He'd be dumb not to be.

Hoist not only flew the Axalon back to Cybertron; he was also one of the mechs that helped fix it up. An officer told him that if he hadn't been stationed on Earth, he could've be a candidate pilot for the armada. Personally, I'm wondering if he was just trying to flatter him. Hoist was good, but not as good as Blurr.

Jetfire still has the position of Optimus' second-in-command, just like how Scavenger remains his third. He never seems to sit still these days, but then again, he never did. Jetfire is almost always off handling complications between alien life and the transformers. While Prime is the diplomat, his second takes care of the risky business in-between.

Hot Shot, unfortunately, isn't able to be in the action like Jetfire, and that annoys him to no end. There are days when he spends the majority driving in the desert to get his extra energy to wear off. Whenever that happens, Scavenger usually tries to assign him with something more difficult. Hot Shot at least never bitches about it, and he has good reason not to. He can stay with his friends on Earth, and visit his family on Cybertron. He'd had to do the second thing often when Hot Rod was in the process of healing from his major battle injuries.

Sideswipe, on the other hand, has used his time to get more used to Earth. He spent the shortest time on it out of the Autobots, and so, he's taking advantage of it to get to know the area better. At least he's learned stealth from it, since he has to be careful at times. Seeing an empty car driving itself around in broad daylight is a little suspicious.

Elita kept her word when she said she was handing her position over to Chromia. She still serves as a petty officer, and more often than not, stays behind whenever a diplomatic mission is brought up. It's her choice. I don't blame her. After what happened to her once, staying back probably sounded like a pretty good idea.

Of course, that keeps her apart from Optimus, but they still somehow manage to find time for one another. Prime's once again our supreme commander, meaning that he has to handle just about every issue thrown his way. It's a tough job, but he can take care of it. He never lost the war to Galvatron, and that's a victory in itself. Still, sometimes I wonder how lonely it must get for him. He'd told me once that he looked at his team, meaning us, as his sparklings. He and Elita are too old to be creating a sparkling, and that meant that he was away from those that came close. No one ever said being a leader was easy.

Getting Perceptor back helped the Mini-Cons a good deal. They're much more comfortable with staying on Earth, and don't seem to be as lonely without partners (save Longarm and Incinerator, who try to fill their time with other things). At least, that's what Swindle's told me, so go figure. Too bad the same can't be said for the Mini-Cons that belonged to Galvatron and the other Decepticons. They're socialized enough that they can live on Earth without terrorizing humans, but they also have problems getting along with other Mini-Cons. Swindle knows better than to go near Leader-One after I had to yank him out of the way of a right hook.

Rad is now the CEO of an influential company. I honestly wasn't surprised. He idolized Optimus, so of course he would be doing some sort of job involving leadership. He's also married, but not to Holly. That ended when they graduated from high school. Holly just better keep her mouth shut about me.

Carlos followed his family's high expectations, and made it to medical school. He isn't a surgeon like his father wanted, but he is a doctor. I guess that's close enough. He complains that the hours are long, but the pay is good.

Billy's love of video games actually led him to be a programmer. What's funny is whenever he tries to be technical about his job, and I can call him on every mistake he makes. Human computers are child's play to me.

Fred was so interested in us that he took over an old mechanic's garage, and made it his own. The funny thing is, it was originally Dennis' place. From what I've seen Fred runs the place well. Most of the time, though, I try to steer clear of it. The bare framework of a car means one thing to a human, and a completely different thing to a half-transformer.

Alexis never had to make good on her promise of leaving me if I seriously messed up again. We married a few years after she graduated from college. It was because she'd wanted to. It wasn't the same thing as bonding, but it does feel good to have this ring on my finger, and know she wears one just like it. Alexis does a lot of work with local law enforcement while I'm off hunting Mini-Cons or at meetings with Scavenger and the others. She was right when she'd said that being in the middle of a war had made her grow up. Like Rad, she too is following after Optimus by taking charge, even though her past dream died. She told me it was because of her experiences on Cybertron. The only thing she and I can't do is have children/sparklings. Ratchet explained to me that because I am a hybrid, I'm completely sterile. As humiliating as that is, at least I won't have to deal with other little imbeciles like me running around. Alexis doesn't seem to mind, either. We already have enough to deal with. I asked her if she ever did want offspring, and she told me that it hadn't been something she'd thought of.

Swindle still stays by my side, and Sureshock does the same with Alexis. As good as their companionship is, we're forced each day to face the fact that we won't be with them forever. It seemed so far away when we were teenagers. Now that we're adults, it looms a lot closer, especially to me. As a transformer, I'd had a life span of thousands of years. Now, I have less than a hundred. Sometimes I notice Ratchet or Scavenger looking at me in an odd way, as if wondering if I would be back the next day. Optimus gives me that same look when I answer transmissions from him. It irks me. I understand my mortality. I don't need it flung in my face.

Still, it is. There are nights when I've woken up, clutching myself as if I wasn't able to believe I was actually there. All of those times, though, Alexis or Swindle would always be there to comfort me. The thought of him alone is enough to turn my stomach, but I know he can handle it. He'd lived his own life without me before I'd met him, and he can live it afterwards.

I'd always thought my spark was the most fragile part of my body, since precious little is left of it. Instead, it's actually my human parts that are. They're so easily damaged, and they'll be the first to go. Still, the pain they cause me isn't enough to say they aren't worth having.

When I began to write this, I wanted to make sure that the story was set down right in case something happened to me. I didn't need my name to get slandered any more than it already is. What I found when I wrote it, however, was a strength in me that can't be replaced. I stood defiant against all odds, and I'll continue to do so with my lady and my Mini-Con by my side. Galvatron's shadow still haunts my memories, and Unicron waits out in the darkest reaches of space while my strength ebbs away from me with each passing year, yet here I am, slashes on my back intact. No matter what comes to pass, I will not die.

-Starscream . Gabriel Avian

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." –Kurt Cobain


End file.
